More than 80 percent of respondents said that the United Nations had failed to grasp the issues related to climate change with two-thirds attributing urgency to establishing measures capable of limiting the rise in temperatures to 2º Celsius.
The Institute of Social Sciences initiative took place within the framework of a French government initiative that saw a sample of 100 representative citizens surveyed simultaneously in 100 different countries on environmental related issues.
Portugal proved an outlier in terms of whether they perceived climate change as a threat with 81 percent of nationals reporting that they perceive such change actually as an opportunity to improve quality of life.
There was 47 percent support for taxing carbon emissions with a majority (57 percent) backing support for energy efficient vehicles whilst cutting subsidies for fossil fuels and funding research and development into low carbon technologies also receiving significant support.
While almost 60 percent of this particular sample defended that climate change should be a national priority, only 28 percent felt that the theme actually has a consensus agreeing Portugal was already one of the most affected European countries given the rise in extreme weather events, such as floods, heat waves and droughts.