Special Eurobarometer 490

Abstract

Climate change is one of the most serious challenges facing our world today. Its effects are being felt on all continents and are predicted to become more intense in the coming decades. These changes have the power to transform our world, affecting our environment, health, food and water supplies and pose threats to global security and stability. Although 195 countries agreed in the Paris Agreement of 2015 to tackle climate change by limiting global warming to ‘well below’ 2°C and pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5°C, the average global temperature continues to increase. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) special report issued in October 20181, human-induced global warming has already reached 1°C and is increasing at a rate of approximately 0.2°C per decade. Without stronger international action, the average temperature increase could pass the critical 2°C level soon after 2060 and continue rising, making large-scale irreversible climate changes much more likely2. At the same time, awareness of climate change and the need for action is increasingly widespread. One of the largest demonstrations of this in recent times is the youth movement for climate that has garnered strong support in countries around the world.