Perceptions of environmental problems in Italy 2019

In 2019, with more than 80 percent of respondents, waste disposal was perceived as the most relevant environment concern in Italy. Air pollution as well as pollution of seas and oceans were concerning environmental issues for 63 percent and 52 percent of interviewees in Italy. A further survey about environmental issues showed that a large group of Italian respondents believed that all citizens should be engaged in solving such environmental problems, and not only politics and organizations.

Friday for Future in Italy

  Discussions about climate change and its consequences are rising, also due to Greta Thunberg's speech at UNO in October 2019. Greta Thunberg is the founder of Friday for Future, a movement of students who take part in demonstrations to demand action against global warming. In Italy, several of these demonstrations were organized. Italian respondents mostly believed that Friday for Future demonstrations had an impact on the people's awareness of climate change. Furthermore, data related to the population concern on climate change showed that a majority of Italians considered global warming as a real emergency.

Changes in consumers’ habits

In a survey of October 2019, 90 percent of respondents in Italy thought they could individually make a real impact on the protection of the environment. For instance, 53 percent of Italian interviewees stated to be willing to reduce the use of plastic and packaging in order to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle. Moreover, almost half of the respondents would reuse disposable items, while other 41 percent would stop buying goods that have non-recyclable packaging.