A Chance for Consensus? European Attitudes towards Climate Change

From its roots in monitoring air and water quality, the EU has expanded its sphere of influence on the environment with the 2030 Climate and Energy Framework and set itself the goal of leading the world in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Europeans seem to care passionately about the climate, with protests gaining momentum from the Hambach Forest to the growing school strikes for climate movement. Yet at the same time, the ‘gilets jaunes’ protests in France emerged from outrage about carbon taxes, and members of the European Parliament have denied the existence of climate change. With such different attitudes towards climate change in the EU, could a renewed focus on climate change policy bring Europeans together, or will it drive them even further apart? This paper will examine European attitudes towards climate change, analyzing both why individual attitudes vary, and the extent and possible causes of country differences. Using survey data from Round 8 of the European Social Survey, which encompasses 18 EU member states and more than 35,000 individuals, the paper undertakes multiple quantitative methods, including exploratory factor analysis and multiple OLS regressions. It explores the relative importance of socialization and self-interest for individual attitudes towards climate change, as well as the differences in average levels of country concern and to what extent these are explained by national development, financial and security interests, and political cues. The paper finds high levels of concern about climate change among Europeans; however, it also reveals evidence of an East-West divide in attitudes towards climate change, partially driven by issues such as energy poverty and the importance of natural resource rents. Based on these empirical findings, the paper will address potential stumbling blocks for inter-European cooperation on climate policies, and implications for EU integration.