Britons Want to Lead UN Climate Conference Less Than Most Europeans

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — British people want to their country to assume a position of leadership at the ongoing UN climate conference in Paris to a less extent than the majority of other European nations, a recent poll revealed Tuesday.

The poll by the YouGov research company was conducted on the occasion of the 21st UN Climate Change Conference in the French capital. The research looks at the positions of citizens of the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and the United States with regard to the role their states should assume in the effort to curb climate change.

The poll found that only 42 percent of British citizens support their country's delegation taking an active role and setting ambitious targets during the conference, while of the six other European countries surveyed only Finns showed less support for these goals.

At the same time, British respondents — 9 percent — were most likely to oppose reaching any agreement during the forum among the European participants in the survey.

The ongoing Paris climate talks are due to run until December 11 with delegates from 195 countries in attendance. The conference is expected to end in a new, legally binding, agreement on how to address climate change, including ways to curb greenhouse gas emissions.