Poll: European concern about climate change grows

BRUSSELS (AP) ? A new survey shows that more than two-thirds of EU citizens see climate change as a very serious problem, and a vast majority think fighting it can create jobs and help the economy.

The poll says 68 percent of the people in the EU consider climate change a serious threat, up from 64 percent in 2009. And 78 percent said fighting climate change could help jobs and the economy, up from 63 percent two years ago.

Connie Hedegaard, the EU’s climate action commissioner, called the findings encouraging news Friday.

The poll was conducted in June and 26,840 people from all 27 EU countries were interviewed in person. The margin of error was plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.