The number of Croatians who see climate change as the most serious problem facing the world is half the EU average, the Vecernji List newspaper said on Wednesday, citing a Eurobarometer survey.

Nearly one in ten Croatian respondents (9%) consider the climate change to be the single biggest problem of today, while the EU average is 18%.

The Croatian respondents cited the spread of infectious diseases as the single most serious problem facing the world (29%, compared with the EU average of 17%). The next most serious problems are the economic situation (18%, as against the EU average of 14%), and poverty, hunger and lack of drinking water (17%, the same as the EU average).

Slightly more than a quarter of the Croatian respondents (26%, compared with the EU average of 41%) consider themselves personally responsible for tackling the problem of climate change. In Croatia, 52% of the respondents think that the responsibility lies with national governments and 51% believe that it lies with the European Union.

This survey is interesting because it shows to what extent citizens are aware of the danger of climate change and how much they support the direction in which the EU is going, notably its goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2050, Vecernji List said.