Cyprus Mail 14 November 2021 - by Patroclos
I WOULD never have thought that the majority of we Cypriots are suppressed eco warriors deeply concerned about climate crisis and prepared to make big personal sacrifices to save the planet. I say suppressed because we have not seen any radical environmental movement like Extinction Rebellion developing here, at least not yet.
It is only a matter of time if an opinion poll conducted by the European Investment Bank (EIB) is anything to go by. According to the survey, 75 per cent of Cypriots were in favour of introducing taxes on products and services that contribute to global warming. We, supposedly, support such a move “to a greater extent than Europeans in general”.
The large majority’s commitment to the fight against climate crisis is not restricted to wanting to pay taxes for harmful products and service. A slightly smaller majority (67 per cent) is also in favour of stricter government measures to fight climate change, “similar to those implemented in response to the Covid-19 crisis, which would impose changes in human behaviour”.
I can’t believe that three out of four Cypriots wants to pay higher taxes to save the planet when nine out of 10 do everything possible, including resorting to illegality, to pay as little tax as possible. And two thirds also want the return of the police state we were living under at the height of the pandemic to save the planet.
What more proof do we need to accept that the majority is always wrong?
COULD IT be the respondents were giving the answer they believed a right-thinking, idealistic and public-spirited European citizen would give? It did not cost anything to say they wanted higher taxes to tackle climate change nor was an answer to a survey a pledge to the cause.
These are the same Cypriots that have been demanding cuts to electricity prices so they can carry on using as much electricity in their homes as they are accustomed to, so that the EAC’s power stations can maintain their carbon emissions at the maximum levels. The same people that, when they can afford to, will buy a car that uses the maximum amount of petrol to show off their wealth.
As for paying higher taxes to save the planet, we are the guys that dump old fridges, stoves, mattresses and other bulky household items in fields or riverbeds to avoid paying to have them removed. Is this because dumping this type of junk in fields does not contribute to climate change, which 83 per cent of Cypriots, according to the EIB survey, claimed they were more concerned about than the government.
The survey was conducted before Prez Nik unveiled Kyproulla’s Regional Action Plan for dealing with climate change at COP26, which showed the government was concerned. Hopefully, not enough to want to impose taxes on products and services with a carbon footprint.
THE FINDINGS of the latest Eurobarometer were also released this week and suggested that, contrary to the EIB findings, the climate crisis is not such a big deal for Cypriots after all.
The two most important issues facing Kyproulla at the moment, according to respondents, were the economic situation and unemployment (45 per cent) and the cost of living (31 per cent). The climate crisis did not get a look-in (perhaps it was not listed as an option by Eurobarometer) because for us Cypriots, despite our high principles, the most important cause was and always will be our pockets.
And if there is big concern about climate change, it is because we are worried it will affect our financial well-being. Have the three out of four Cypriots, who support new taxes to save the planet, not realised this would push up the rising cost of living, which is the most important issue facing Kyproulla, according to one third of the population?
