The majority of Canarians admit that climate change is a reality. This is revealed by the Canary Islands Sociobarometer in its new wave, a sixth edition that includes for the first time a monographic block dedicated to nature. Specifically, the survey carried out by UNED in Gran Canaria shows that 76% of Canarians will answer with more than five – on a scale of 0 to 10 – to the question “How certain are you that climate change really happen?” happened?”, while 23% doubted this statement to a greater extent.
The results of the Sociobarometer also show that only one in two islanders claim to be very concerned about environmental problems in the Canary Islands (54.9%), compared to 44.4% responded that they had little or no concern.
However, the semi-annual survey carried out by UNED in Gran Canaria concluded that 61.7% of the citizens of the archipelago rate it as fair, bad or very bad. the environmental condition of the Canary Islandsa percentage that increased to 65.5% when asked directly about the environmental situation in their particular island of residence.
Another answer from the 3,200 canarians who participated in this new edition of the Sociobarometer reinforces the existence of islands in a group of climate deniers: 24.9% say that “the so-called ecological crisis is greatly exaggerated”, a percentage very similar to those who indicate that they are not sure that climate change is happening.
About what are the main environmental problems of the islands, The Canaries put air pollution at the top of their rankingclosely followed by waste generation and management, and further afield by forest conservation and water scarcity.
In the car and without solar panels
This unique sociological study of the Canary Islands also focuses on the islanders’ habits that have an impact on the environment. Between them stood the use of a private car as the majority option for mobility (54.7%) of those over 18 years old, while public transportation was used by only 20.8%, and 21.2% chose to ride a bicycle, scooter or walk.
The UNED Sociobarometer in Gran Canaria also revealed that only 2% of Canarians who travel by public transport do so for environmental reasons, compared to the weight of reasons such as economic savings (48% ), comfort (25.9%) or lack. in your own car.
Nor is there a decisive commitment in the Canary Islands to hybrid or electric vehicles: 16% of the population with a private car use this type of green vehicle and Only 5% plan to switch to a friendlier mode of private transportation.
The survey also shows that the use of solar panels continues to be a minority in the archipelago. 9.9% of those surveyed indicated that they take advantage of solar energy in their home, compared to an overwhelming 89.6% who responded that they do not have this type of installation in their home.
Personal actions
This new edition of the Canary Islands Sociobarometer also dedicates a large section to the analysis of how the citizens of the islands contribute to the care of the environment and the fight against climate change. From the response of those surveyed, it was concluded that the Canaries have internalized some behaviors, but the majority still do not use other environmental measures despite public awareness campaigns.
So, The use of low-consumption light bulbs in the house is the green action most practiced by canaries. (81% often or often), followed by bringing your own bags when shopping (74%) and measures to save energy (71%). However, Only 45% of those surveyed said they buy locally sourced products, while 39% repair broken appliances and 31% buy second-hand items.
Canaries know better to separate household waste and dispose of it in appropriate containers. 71% claim to do it often or often with glass, 71% with plastic and 67% with paper. These percentages decrease significantly in relation to the treatment of other types of waste: 36% of the people surveyed indicate that they take the waste to their corresponding clean point, while only 34% inform their town hall of collection of goods and 29% bring expired. drugs in a pharmacy.
Migration and economics
The continuous block of this sixth edition of the UNED survey in Gran Canaria has noticed some changes in the perception of the citizens of the archipelago about the economic situation and about what are the main problems of the Canary Islands.
- Part of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands
- Population of the Universe of both sexes over 18 years of age
- Number of interviews 3,200 effective interviews
- The margin of error is 1.8% for the entire sample, for a confidence level of 95.5%
- The field work was done between October 4 and 25 this year
In general terms, canaries They remain somewhat pessimistic about the economy of the archipelago, especially in the green islands. However, regarding the Sociobarometer wave in July, there was a large shift in respondents (approximately 5%) who now assess the situation as “regular” and in the previous July edition they saw it as “bad or very bad. ” ».
Regarding the concerns of the Canary Islands, the survey maintains health as the main personal problem, although now closely followed by inflation, an issue that was not very visible a few months ago. There is also a clear change in the list of urgent problems in the Canary Islands: Migration has increased rapidly due to the humanitarian crisis that the archipelago has suffered in recent months.
