Most EU citizens believe public funding for a green economy transition is insufficient in their country

Published in May 2024, the Special Eurobarometer 550 reveals the attitude of EU citizens towards the environment. We explore how EU citizens feel about their country’s transition into a greener economy and the amount of public funding allocated for it.

60% of EU citizens stated that not enough public funding has been allocated to support the transition to a greener economy in their country.

At the national level, a relative majority of respondents in 26 Member States indicate that funding for a green economy in their country is not enough. Denmark is the exception, with an even split between not enough and just right (43% each). The proportion of respondents that believe that public funding is not enough varies widely between Member States: the highest proportions are found in Malta (84%), Croatia (74%) and Cyprus (71%), and the lowest in Estonia (36%) and Finland (38%).

In contrast, only 6% of EU respondents think that the amount of public funding allocated to support the transition to a green economy is too high.

The proportion of people who feel that funding is too high are similarly low at the national level, as less than a tenth of respondents feel this way in 23 Member States. The exceptions are Estonia (19%), Austria (15%), Germany and Latvia (11%).

Similarly, at the EU level, 23% of respondents feel the amount of funding is just right.

At the national level it varies from over 30%, with the highest rates coming from Denmark (43%) and Luxembourg (39%), and the lowest from Malta (10%) and Greece (11%).

Do views on public funding for a green economy transition vary by social demographic?

Results are generally consistent when considering the social demographic aspect. However, a small difference can be seen between respondents who remained in full-time education until the age of 20 or above (62%) and those who ended education earlier (52%-60%).

In addition, managers are also more likely to consider that public funding is not sufficient than other socio-professional categories, notably unemployed respondents (66% vs. 54%).