Evolution of Environmental Attitudes in the European Community

The environmental problem is a complex, global and basic one which serves as a catalyser for the formation of new political preferences and value orientations. The salience of the environmental issue has continuously increased during the 1980s after a decline at the end of the 1970s and on into the early 1980s. A huge gap between personal complaint about the local environmental situation and general concern about the national and global situation has existed throughout the 1980s. With respect to the development of attitudes towards nuclear energy, a clear‐cut and persistent effect of the Chernobyl accident can be identified in all countries. Environmental concern is generally above the European average in Denmark, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. It is about average in Italy and mostly below the European average in Belgium, France, Ireland and the United Kingdom as well as in the three southern countries Greece, Portugal and Spain. This article provides a descriptive overview of the evolution of environmental attitudes using indicators which are repeatedly included in the biannual Eurobarometer surveys in the member‐states of the European Community.