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%).