Presentation from the report
Energy is fundamental for our lives and underpins all the functioning of society. Over the last few decades, the energy sector has changed drastically. The ever-increasing demand for energy, soaring oil prices, uncertain energy supplies from some areas of the world and fears of global warming are all challenges that are currently the subject of intense debate.
Within the EU, energy demand continues to rise by 1-2% per year. Over 80% of our
energy use is based on fossil fuels - gas, oil and coal. In ten years' time, we could be
using 10% more energy and, within a generation, we could be importing almost all the
oil we use and 80% of our gas (ref: 
Explanatory memo on Fuelling our future)
There are two main ways of tackling these challenges related to energy demand: reducing energy demand by changing consumption patterns or using energy in a "greener", more diverse and more efficient manner.
It should be possible to meet these challenges successfully: energy-related problems are relatively recent, many technical options already exist or are under development, and the stakeholders are willing to collaborate on solutions. On the other hand, over and above the costs involved in meeting these challenges, it is necessary to change consumer habits and recognise the urgency of these problems.
In recent years, the European Commission has launched several initiatives, at policy and research level, in order to respond to these challenges. The latest, the Green Paper entitled A European Strategy for Sustainable, Competitive and Secure Energy sets out the Commission's vision for an energy strategy for Europe. It is based on three core objectives of energy policy: competitiveness, sustainable development and security of supply.
Energy research is essential in developing a more sustainable energy policy. Most problems and challenges in the energy sector are global in nature and thus common to all Member States. The EU promotes research co-operation between partners from different countries and aims at results that could not be achieved at national or regional level.
Above all, the EU represents 25 countries and 450 million energy consumers. In order to achieve the targets set for policies or research, general public opinion and consumer behaviour play a crucial role. With this in mind, the Research Directorate- General, launched this Eurobarometer survey on EU citizens' knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of energy issues.
This report presents the principal results obtained. These are analysed in terms of the European average and then reviewed on a country-by-country basis. Also, some brief comments are made on the socio-demographic variables of the citizens of the European Union.
This report consists of five chapters dealing with the following themes:
The responses to the two following questions are systematically cross-tabulated with the results of each question. These additional breakdowns are:
These background variables offer additional insight to the factors underlining the attitudes and opinions of EU citizens. The first breakdown aims to illustrate whether the perceived importance of saving energy affects respondents' opinion. The second breakdown seeks to depict whether believing in technological progress as a solution for environmental problems differentiates public opinion.
Another cross-tabulation was added for certain questions (QD1, QD2, QD15, QD16) in order to see whether environmentally oriented attitudes make a difference in perceptions of energy issues. Three groups of respondents with "materialist" or "postmaterialist (i.e. environmentally oriented)" views were picked to illustrate this point:
This survey was conducted in the 25 Member States. The fieldwork was carried out between 5 May and 11 June 2006. 24 815 European citizens were interviewed face-toface. Further details of the methodology of the survey can be found in the technical note in the annexes to this report.
To find similar reports, click on a keyword below:
Citizens
: Energy Efficiency
: Publications
: Renewable Energy Sources & Systems
: Sustainable Energy
: User behaviour
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