Climate change is the dominant challenge of the 21st century but
combating it willrequire more than just huge investments: far-reaching
individual behavioral changes are also essential. Yet, our latest Allianz
Pulse1
survey reveals that just 17% of respondents in Germany, France
and Italy are prepared to pay the higher price for sustainably produced
goods. There are three channels of behavioral changes that could
accelerate the global green transformation: First, the “moral channel”, by
which insight into the unsustainability of old habits forces people to
change their lifestyles; second, the “substitution channel”, by which people
do not necessarily change their consumption behavior but choose green
alternatives (climate-friendly products) and third, the “price channel”, by
which people are “encouraged” to reduce their demand for climate-
damaging products by price signals such as a carbon tax. However, the
results of our representative survey show that while the “moral channel”
seems to be working, with Europeans recognizing the urgency of dealing
with climate change, both the “substitution channel” and the “price
channel” are not.
Overall, only 19% of respondents said “No” in response to the question “Are
you willing to personally tackle climate change?” (see Figure 1). The
overwhelming majority is therefore quite willing to change their behavior
for the good of the climate. Changes in eating habits come first – climate
meets health. But the willingness to increase the energy efficiency of one’s
own four walls – climate meets thriftiness – and to curb wanderlust –
climate meets Covid-19 – is almost as high. The fact that climate
considerations are probably not the only factor in the most frequently
mentioned measures does not detract from the relevance of the answers.
More surprising (and disappointing) is the fact that only 19% of the
respondents consider sustainable investments as a measure. This low
figure is somewhat at odds with the tremendous interest this topic is
currently attracting in the financial markets. Thisis probably due to the fact
that only a small proportion of respondents are financial market-savvy to
begin with.
Click here to view the full report
Study Performed By Allianz Group
https://www.allianz.com/en/economic_research.html
