The main focus of the next European Parliament should be on protecting the environment, according to a survey of more than 100,000 people conducted by Change.org.

Seventy-two per cent of respondents said the health of the planet was the most important issue, higher than the 68% who called for a fairer economic and tax system.

Migration and employment were far behind, attracting support from 38% and 33% respectively.

Change.org, which is a platform hosting online campaigns, surveyed 135,431 of its users in Poland, Spain, Italy, France and Germany. The results were not weighted to represent the mix of demographic and social groups across the European Union.

The survey found that younger people were more passionate about environmental questions than their older counterparts but also less likely to vote. Around 70% of those aged 18-24 said they would vote, while 90% of over 55s intend to.

"The responses are consistent with the most important European campaigns on Change.org in the past few years. Campaigns aiming to protect the environment such as the campaign to ban disposable plastic bottles or to end food waste gathered millions of signatures," said Paula Peters, Change.org’s Vice-President for Europe.