A large majority of Quebecers, 77%, believe that climate change threatens the survival of our civilization and 68% are of the opinion that governments must force changes in individual behavior to fight the climate crisis, according to a new Léger survey .
The climate crisis threatens civilization and the worst is yet to come, according to three-quarters of Quebecers who responded to the survey carried out by the COMM Climat (Community of practice in climate communication in Quebec).
More than 85% of those surveyed somewhat or completely agreed that “to cope with climate change, governments, businesses and individuals will have to fundamentally rethink the way we live.”
More French speakers are of this opinion, i.e. 86% compared to 80% for English speakers.
“The survey clearly shows that a vast majority of the Quebec population expects our elected officials to work harder on climate action,” commented Marie-Eve Leclerc, mobilization project manager at Équiterre and member of the COMM Climate validation committee, adding “that it is a question of political courage and consistency with the majority of the population’s expectations”.
Among respondents, 43% believe that a reduction in economic activities and/or economic decline will accompany actions to address climate change, compared to 36% who believe this will not be the case.
Also 37% are of the opinion that a reduction in freedoms will be a consequence of the actions put in place to counter climate change, compared to 48% who believe the opposite.
More than 7 out of 10 Quebecers believe that governments must accelerate the pace of their actions to deal with climate change. This proportion is higher among women (78%) as well as among French speakers (74%).
Constraints and change in behavior
A third of Quebecers responded that governments must force the population to change certain behaviors to face climate change.
On the other hand, more than half, or 57%, are of the opinion that governments must instead convince the population to change certain behaviors.
“According to the survey, Quebecers continue to favor consultation and persuasion to deal with climate change, with a significant proportion saying they are open to leaders making decisions and imposing them if necessary, in the name of good. common,” commented Clémence Lalloz, co-founder of Futur Simple, who contributed to the design of the survey.
Consequence on lifestyle
Nine out of ten respondents expect that the actions that will be put in place to deal with climate change will have at least one impact on their lives.
Among the list of around fifteen consequences, 64% believe that they will have to reduce their travel.
Pollsters also asked respondents to identify items, from a list, that they would be able to deprive themselves of to contribute to climate action.
Buying plastic products (21%), eating out-of-season food (19%), purchasing disposable products (17%), and traveling by plane (16%) top the list.
On the other hand, the elements that Quebecers would have by far the most difficulty doing without are owning a car (57%) and eating meat (35%).
Almost one in two people, 43%, believe that the polarization of society will inevitably be a consequence of climate action.
Also, French speakers (87%) trust scientists more than English speakers (80%) to “intervene adequately on climate change”.
Asked about “the main fault in our way of life which must be corrected quickly”, the cost of living and inflation were the spontaneous response which was mentioned most often, by 8% of participants, compared to overconsumption and waste.
The web survey was conducted last September among 1,001 Quebecers aged 18 and over who could speak French or English.
Research and methodology experts believe it is impossible to assign a margin of error to an online survey, since the sampling method is non-probability.