The Mediterranean Mutirão
While it is still early to assess how the annual UN climate conference COP30, which opens tomorrow in Belém, Brazil – a location whose choice testifies on the conference’s emphases as biodiversity, and the importance of preserving the Amazon forests, following the objective of “From clean energy to forest restoration” will end – it is accompanied as well by the expectation that the goals announced at the Paris climate conference a decade ago, and foremost a goal of atmospheric warming not exceeding 1.5°C are still achievable – it is quite possible, already at this early stage, to assess that the language of the host country, Portuguese, will contribute to the climate discourse a term that we hope is here to remain as part of the arsenal of legislative, regulatory societal and economic policy tools on the issue of climate, The “Mutirão”, whose literal meaning is ‘community effort’, and in a global climate-oriented translation, is a concept with great importance in driving binding climate change on the ground, at the community and state levels and in the international arena, through cooperation, and not through competition. Is this possible?
As every year, ahead of the UN annual climate conference, reports are published regularly indicating progress or setbacks in empirical indicators such as country preparedness, budgetary allocations for climate, climate risk and climate resilience at state level. Monitoring these indicators allows us to draw conclusions about trends, or as the case of the ThinkTank of the Tahadhari Center (Brussels), Euro-Med org, that focuses on characterizing the socio-economic profile of the ‘climate gaps’ between neighboring countries, in defined geopolitical region, as the Mediterranean basin. The idea behind this work is that reducing gaps regarding the ability to cope with climate crisis between neighboring countries, should be a joint policy objective of regional climate cooperation, especially in regions that have difficulty collaborating on political issues such as the Middle East.
How a policy change can be achieved when targeting the ‘Mutirão’? and do public attitudes on climate change matter?
The findings of a study recently published on young Europeans’ attitudes toward climate change and environmental sustainability (include the northern Mediterranean countries) highlighting the need for societal transformation and public support for effective climate policies. So, the answer is yes.
The research is funded by The European Commission’s NextGenEU and is based on key data sources in Europe including European Social Survey, European Values Study and other. The analysis covers data from 2002 to 2023, focusing on knowledge, beliefs, concerns, and policy support. Another interesting study is the public attitudes of Israeli society towards the climate, conducted by the Association of Environmental Justice (AEJI), ahead of the UN conference in Paris in 2015, and its findings are comparable here.
In brief, awareness of climate change is higher, with 26-33% of young Europeans considering it a top issue in 2020, up from 16-17% in 2010. Young women and those with higher education levels show greater concern for climate change. This figure is consistent with the results of a study conducted by AEJI, ahead of the 2015 Paris Climate Summit, where it was also found that the education component is significant. Furthermore, a study conducted among women in Arab society and focused on motivation to be active on environment issues, found that education was given much greater weight than age, family status or socioeconomic status. No correlation was found between belief and concern about the climate in country level analysis in relation to the climate risk situation of that country.
There is a correspondence between the findings of the European study and the study conducted in Israel, except, most likely, for the following aspect, which has not yet been examined locally. The European study has found that trust in science to solve environmental problems varies by age, gender, and education level. For example, younger individuals (under 35) generally express more trust in science compared to older groups, with 60% agreeing that science can solve environmental issues.
When examined the Cross-National variations in climate activism, there is a gap compared the Mediterranean as significant national differences in climate activism across Euro-Med was found, with higher engagement in Northern and Western countries compared to Eastern and Southern countries.
Considering Mutirão to be developed in regional climate policy scale can be concluding that Young Europeans recognize the urgency of climate change, but their willingness to act is influenced by gender, education, and national context. Awareness of climate change is high, but it often competes with other pressing issues. In addition, Trust in science remains high, but there is a growing recognition that technological solutions alone may not suffice.
These three aspects suggest that the national context, in conflict zones, such as the Middle East (or Ukraine), influences the attitudes of young people re climate, and therefore cross-national collaborations are required, for them and for future generations, for the sake of climate justice and equity in shared zone.
