According to the latest European survey, citizens in all EU Member States believe that climate change is the worst problem today.
The results of the Eurobarometer are categorical: 9 out of 10 Europeans believe that climate change is the EU’s worst problem (93%), and almost 8 out of 10 (78%) as a very serious problem, which should be addressed by both national authorities ( 63%), as well as the European institutions (57%). Regarding Romania, 2 out of 3 citizens consider climate change a serious problem (66%), which should be solved by the government (55%), the European Union (49%) and local authorities (33%). Romanians believe that polluting companies should also take measures to combat climate change (51%). Only a third of survey participants acknowledge individual responsibility in this regard (36%).
The survey also reveals a high level of approval by European citizens for the provisions of the European Green Pact. Through this, Member States are committed to ensuring the EU’s climate neutrality by 2050 and reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030. 9 out of 10 Europeans (90%) believe that emissions greenhouse gases must be kept to a minimum. And the other types of emissions should be offset so that Europe can become climate neutral by 2050. Three quarters of citizens surveyed (75%) believe that investment in economic recovery should be directed mainly at the green economy.
Money to fight environmental crimes
“This year we had tornadoes in the Czech Republic and over 30 degrees Celsius in Finland. In Romania, the floods devastated half the country, while in the rest of the areas we complain of drought. On June 30, we voted in the European Parliament on the European Climate Law, which implements the Green Pact. But it is not enough to allocate money for the environment. We must also fight the destruction of the environment in parallel “, underlines the USRPLUS MEP Vlad Gheorghe, who proposed the establishment of a Green Prosecutor at European level.
“9 out of 10 Europeans and 7 out of 10 Romanians believe that measures for clean environment are priority for public health. At the same time, Europol has already identified environmental crime as one of the most serious threats to European security. In these conditions, there is certainly a need for a separate agency, modeled on the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, to deal exclusively with criminals who pollute water, air and soil, those who deforest forests, traffic in illegal waste or poach protected species”, explains Gheorghe .
European Green Prosecutor
“In very few Member States are there staff in the relevant institutions specializing in investigating environmental crime. As author of the law on the establishment of Forests DNA, I pointed out this problem since 2018 in Romania. Moreover, most crimes – waste trafficking, for example – have a cross-border character by definition. Situation for which the national authorities have neither the necessary means nor the attributions. A European Green Prosecutor would solve all these inefficiencies “, insists the MEP Vlad Gheorghe.