Ecological consciousness as a factor influencing the sustainable development of European countries

Abstract

he article is devoted to the study of the influence of ecological public con- sciousness on the state of perception of ecological problems in European countries and Ukraine. Ecological consciousness is considered as a latent determinant of modern tendencies of realization of the concept of sustainable development in the context of greening of the international economic system. It is noted that in conditions of social uncertainty, people have the effect of «ecological alienation» as a characteristic of the state of perception of environmental problems in the minds of members of modern society. Although the issues of rational use of economic resources, finding ways to green the international economy, preventing man-made risks and the global envi- ronmental crisis are the focus of European governments, an effective solution to these issues is not possible without the reliable support of society. After all, the effectiveness of the environmental policy of each state depends on the trends of perception of environmental problems by its citizens. Issues of environmental consciousness are more related to ethical categories, as they have a significant impact on the formation of civic attitudes of the individual regarding the perception of the importance of certain aspects of society. That is why the analysis of the state of ecological consciousness of the inhabitants of European countries and Ukraine was studied according to the results of the 7th wave, 2017-2020 of the comparative study “World Values Survey” (WVS) using comparative and typological analysis. The World Values Survey is the largest non-profit international survey of human beliefs and values, which contributes to the monitoring of the Sustainable Development Goals and the goals set by the UN program for the period after 2015. From the presented data set, the basic empirical components were identified, which, according to the authors, illustrate the European context of the greening of con- sciousness - the attitude to technologization; the priority of the ecological state of the country over the economic development of soci- ety; the state of trust in environmental protection organizations and the level of active civil position on environmental protection. On the basis of the secondary analysis of data, the key modern tendencies of formation of ecological consciousness in the countries of Europe and Ukraine are substantiated: tendency to ecological thinking; formation of ecological culture; economic rationality. The conclusion is made about the expediency of monitoring and forecasting the state of ecological public consciousness as one of the factors regulating global socio-economic processes in European countries and Ukraine. According to the authors, the environmental consciousness of members of society determines the degree of permissible range of orientation of a country to implement environmentally friendly goals of sustainable development. The study of the variability of the dominance of the trends of ecological consciousness mentioned in the article in certain socio-demographic communities allows to create an effective system of social guarantees in providing conditions for effective socio-economic development and maintaining an ecologically healthy living environment, both in Europe as a whole and in individual countries, in particular.