Trends in public attitudes

What is the trend in Maltese public attitudes towards the environment?

Mepa’s 2008 Public Attitude Survey identified changes in public environmental perceptions when compared with results from similar surveys carried out in 1991 and 1999. Almost a quarter of respondents considered the environment more important than the economy in 2008, compared to 15 per cent in 1999, while 69 per cent of respondents considered the twp equally important in 2008, compared to 78 per cent in 1999. It also emerges that between 1999 and 2008, waste and air quality switched positions as the environmental problem of greatest concern, such that air quality was the top concern in 2008 (mentioned by 70 per cent of respondents, compared to 52 per cent in 1999).

In 1991, 74 per cent of respondents had agreed that air pollution was a serious problem. In 2009 Maltese respondents took part in two separate Eurobarometer surveys.

Maltese respondents, in common with those from France, Slovenia, Austria and Luxemburg, were most likely to answer that they are generally aware of the environmental impact of products. Maltese respondents (65 per cent) said they were fully aware or know about the most significant environmental impacts of the products they buy or use, while the average for all respondents is 55 per cent. Furthermore, respondents from Sweden, Malta (61 per cent) and the Cypriot Community were the most likely to mention “climate change” as being the most serious problem facing the world today.

For more information see The Environment Report Indicators 2009 at http://www.mepa.org.mt/teri2009 .