Poll: Israelis Big Believers in Climate Change

The large majority of Israelis believe that climate change is serious, or even a very serious issue, a poll by Greenpeace Israel shows. 72 percent of those polled in the representative sample of all Israelis agreed that climate change was among the most serious problems facing the country and the world. The poll was taken in advance of a climate change conference set to take place in Poland.

Among the rest, 21 percent of those polled said that climate change was a “significant” problem, if not a serious or very serious one. Only 7 percent said that they did not believe climate change was a problem at all. In addition, 84 percent of Israelis said that human activity had a “significant or very significant effect” on climate change. The percentage was even higher for Israelis age 25 and under.

The climate change issue spans political stances, with Israelis on both the right and the left agreeing that the problem was an important one. The level of religious practice, as well as religious background, were also not factors.

When asked what they were doing – if anything – to do something about the problem, 76 percent said they tried to reduce their use of plastic, while 64 percent said they were using fewer disposable items. 39 percent said they were reducing their carbon footprint by using “green” energy sources, such as moving towards solar energy. 31 percent said they drove as little as possible.

When asked what the biggest contributors to climate change were, 49 percent said that the petrochemical industry was the chief culprit, while pollution caused by transportation was a close second, at 47 percent. Plastic and disposable items came in third, at 34 percent, the poll said.