Attitudes of Russians and Europeans with regard to the problem of climate change - skepticism or ambivalence?

Climate change of the earth is one of the most significant global problems for humanity, and its solution requires the joint efforts of countries, companies and people. So far, the scale and consolidation of efforts to resolve this problem between countries and within individual countries remain rather limited, and the results of the measures taken are more than uncertain. An important component in solving the problem of climate change is the support and broad participation of the population. Comparative data on attitudes and views of the population of different countries on the problem of climate change in the earth were obtained in the eighth wave of the European Social Research (ESS). Based on these data, an analysis is made of the structure of people's attitudes towards the problem of climate change in 23 European countries, including Russia, and the peculiarities of the perception of this problem by certain social groups. By now, the countries of "Greater Europe" have reached a relatively high consensus regarding the basic aspects of attitudes towards the problem of climate change - high public awareness of the problem, awareness and acceptance of it as a global threat to humanity, as well as its anthropogenic causes. However, with regard to attitudes that have a motivating meaning and influence the actual behavior of people or their political views in support of specific solutions aimed at combating climate change, the differences between European countries are very large. With only a few exceptions, readiness for joint action to tackle climate change in European societies is still very low. Russian society is distinguished by a particularly deep ambivalence in its views on the possible consequences of climate change, as well as in supporting various actions aimed at combating the problem.