A new YouGov poll across six European countries has delivered a finding so unsurprising it could have been carved into stone: Europeans believe human-made climate change is real, and most think action must be taken soon - provided, of course, that nobody has to sacrifice anything meaningful along the way.

The survey, conducted in Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK, found that between 69% (Germany) and 80% (France) of respondents believed the climate was changing. Only 1% to 4% denied it outright, while 14% to 20% acknowledged the climate was changing but attributed it to something other than human activity - presumably a very industrious natural phenomenon with a fondness for fossil fuels.

Context matters here: Europe is the world's fastest-warming continent, and scientists say human-driven climate breakdown through the burning of fossil fuels is increasing the frequency and intensity of heatwaves, droughts, wildfires and destructive storms. So the stakes, to use a technical term, are somewhat high.

The poll landed days before the Cop31 climate conference in Turkey, and it showed vast majorities - 79% to 89% - across all six countries thought countries would combat the crisis more effectively by working internationally. EU respondents leaned toward making climate action decisions at the EU level rather than nationally, a view shared by 50% to 54% of respondents in France, Italy and Germany, 61% in Denmark and 64% in Spain.

Majorities of 65% to 83% in each country said they were worried about the climate crisis, including 23% to 42% who described themselves as "very worried." YouGov noted an uptick in concern during this summer's heatwaves - a phenomenon researchers are calling "stepping outside."

France offered the clearest case study in weather-driven anxiety. In April, 74% of French respondents said they were worried about the climate crisis; by mid-August that figure had climbed to 83%, where it remained last month. The share of French people who were "very worried" rose from 28% in April to a record high of 42% in August, holding steady last month. Concern in other countries spiked in August before dipping again - Germany's "very concerned" cohort rose from 27% in April to 40% in August, then settled back to 31%. Denmark remained a bastion of Scandinavian stoicism, with concern relatively stable at 66% to 69% "worried" and 20% to 23% "very worried."

Across the six countries, most respondents (45% to 63%) thought it was not too late to avert the worst impacts of the climate crisis, but that doing so would require a drastic change in approach. Only 11% to 24% believed it was already too late. A hopeful 9% to 20% thought current measures would be enough to prevent the most serious impacts - an optimism that may or may not survive contact with reality.

But when it came to which climate actions people actually supported, the pattern was clear: measures that don't directly affect people's daily lives were the runaway favourites. Planting more trees, subsidising energy efficiency, banning single-use plastics and taxing big emitters all drew favour. Increasing fuel duty, limiting meat and dairy, taxing air fares and banning new petrol and diesel cars? Firmly opposed, thank you very much.

The same logic applied to personal sacrifices. Cheap and easy actions - creating green space at home, eating only seasonal fruit and vegetables - were popular. Shopping exclusively secondhand or paying more for flights were not. In short: Europeans are ready to save the planet, just as soon as it doesn't require a detour on the way to the airport.