Xiyan Chen, Maria-Doriana Gheorghe, Marianna Pyka, Cosimo Scoccianti and Tugay Ünlü – a team of students from Sciences Po – took part at the first EIB Climate Survey hackathon. The team investigated how economic hardship influences public attitudes towards climate action. Their research, titled Economic conditions and public support for fair climate policies in Europe, explores whether inflation, inequality and job insecurity reduce support for climate measures, or simply shift the focus towards fairness. Drawing on EIB Climate Survey data and Eurostat indicators, the team finds that perceived fairness is a stronger driver of support than economic pressure, with most Europeans favouring policies that place the financial burden on polluters and protect vulnerable groups.
Could you summarise the focus of your research? What was the main question your team set out to answer?
We looked at how major economic challenges like high inflation, rising inequality, and job insecurity affect whether people are willing to support climate policies, particularly those designed to be socially fair. We wanted to know if citizens prioritize fighting economic hardship over climate action, or if they continue to support it as long as the costs are shared justly.
Could you tell us which non-EIB datasets you used, and which questions from the EIB Climate Survey were most important for your findings?
External Databases: We combined the individual EIB survey responses from 2019 to 2024 with aggregated national data from Eurostat, covering macroeconomic indicators like inflation, the Gini coefficient (a measure of income inequality), and unemployment rates.
EIB Survey Questions: We focused on questions that captured economic anxieties and fairness preferences. Key indicators included: Q1 (asking respondents to name top national concerns, such as cost of living or unemployment), Q15 of 2020 (on whether climate policies should address income gaps), Q21 of 2023 (on support for progressive or redistributive climate taxes), and Q18 of 2024 (asking who should bear the financial burden of climate adaptation, like businesses, the wealthy, or everyone equally).
If you had just 30 seconds to speak to a decision-maker or journalist, what key insights about public support for climate action would you want them to understand?
1. Perceived fairness matters more than economic hardship: Our analysis shows that economic pressure does not necessarily reduce support for climate action; instead, it amplifies the demand for social equity. People concerned about the cost of living or unemployment are actually more supportive of climate policies that are designed to be fair and equitable.
2. Strong public support for "polluter pays": Most Europeans believe that the businesses and industries most responsible for creating emissions should bear the costs of climate adaptation. Policy success relies heavily on embedding fairness mechanisms like progressive taxes or targeted rebates, which must be clearly communicated to the public.