Europeans are in favour of taxing air travel to fight climate change: 72% of respondents say they are in favour of a carbon tax on flights. This is 10 points higher than the percentage of Europeans who would support a ban on short-distance flights (62%). Furthermore, 84% are in favour of pedestrianising city centres and 82% support a ban on high-emission vehicles in city centres.
The majority of Europeans believe they need better services and infrastructure in order to tackle climate change. In some countries, however, such as Hungary, Finland, France and the Netherlands, most citizens would prefer financial aid or tax cuts, instead. Like Americans and the Chinese, Europeans prefer solutions that involve them less personally or that may have a positive impact on their wallets. These solutions include education on climate change and waste sorting, banning single-use plastics, free public transport and pedestrian-only areas in city centres.
Most Europeans also favour measures penalising the use of cars: 67% of Europeans support less space for cars in city centres and 67% support reducing speed limits. Respondents in China are even more willing to support these measures, with 90% favouring reduced space for cars in city centres and 88% backing lower speed limits. A majority of European respondents (59%) also support higher prices for food and goods that have a large carbon footprint, such as red meat, cell phones and food transported over long distances, which is 10 percentage points higher than the American average of 49%.
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