Tekijät

• International Social Survey Programme (ISSP)
• Melin, Harri (Tampere University. Faculty of Social Sciences)
• Borg, Sami (Tampere University. Faculty of Management and Business)

Asiasanat

climate change, conservation of nature, environment, environment policy, environmental changes, environmental conservation, environmental degradation, environmental management, natural environment, outdoor pursuits, recycling, social systems, trust

Sisällön kuvaus

The 2020 International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) studied Finnish views on nature and the environment. Main themes included climate change, environmental problems, pollution, environmental conservation, what people would be willing to do for the environment and what were important issues for society in general. The 2020 survey is the third survey in the ISSP environment module collected in Finland.

The respondents were asked what issues they considered important in Finland (e.g. health care, education, the economy, the environment) and what were the most important things the country should do (maintain order, give people more say in government decisions, fight rising prices, protect freedom of speech). They were also asked to what extent they agreed with statements relating to how to solve income inequality and Finland's economic problems. Interpersonal trust and trust in government and politicians were also surveyed.

Next questions focused on the environment. Views were probed on the most important environmental problems in Finland and the solutions to such problems. The respondents were also asked about climate change and its impacts for the world as a whole and for Finland. Willingness to protect the environment through higher prices, higher taxes or cuts in the standard of living was surveyed. Additionally, willingness to accept a reduction in the size of Finland's protected nature areas in order to open them up for economic development was charted. A number of statements charted the respondents' attitudes to environmental protection. Opinions were also probed on how dangerous for the environment certain things (e.g. air pollution, pesticides and chemicals in farming, water pollution, climate change, modifying the genes of crops) were and what were the best ways to protect the environment. Finally, the respondents' relationship with nature was examined with questions on, for instance, how often they engaged in leisure activities outside, how many trips they had made by plane in the past twelve months, how often they ate meat or meat products, and how often they recycled.

Background variables included the respondent's gender, age, years of full-time education, type of employer, legal marital/partnership status, trade union membership, religious affiliation, religious attendance, self-perceived social group, party affiliation, voting, household composition, R's and household income, and R's and spouse's/partner's employment relationship, working hours, occupational status, occupation and economic activity.