Today, the Commission published a Special Eurobarometer on “Fairness perceptions of the green transition”, based on a survey carried out between May and June 2022.

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The survey finds that the majority of Europeans – almost nine in ten respondents (88%) – agree that the green transition should not leave anyone behind and that most (77%) feel a personal responsibility to act.

Half of Europeans (50%) agree that the EU is doing enough to ensure that the green transition is fair, 50% say this also about their regional, city or local public authorities, 47% about their national government and 43% agree that the corporate sector is doing enough.

When it comes to the opportunities that the green transition offers, almost six in ten respondents agree that policies to fight climate change will create more new jobs than they will remove and 61% think these jobs will be of good quality. However, only slightly more than half say that their current skills allow them to contribute to the green transition.

In terms of energy prices, the affordability of sustainable energy, products and services is an important concern. 93% of respondents think that the current level of energy prices for people in their country is a serious problem. The Commission has already put forward a series of actions for a fair green transition and will continue to put people at the centre of policy efforts.

Background

The European Green Deal aims to improve the well-being and health of citizens and future generations and fairness and solidarity are its core principles. Significant EU funding available to support Member States for instance through:

• the Recovery and Resilience Facility
• the European Social Fund Plus
• the Just Transition Mechanism
• and a number of policy initiatives to tackle high energy prices

The Council Recommendation on ensuring a fair transition to climate neutrality offers concrete guidance to Member States for policy measures addressing the relevant employment and social aspects. The European Year of Skills 2023 that President von der Leyen proposed in her State of the Union address will provide further momentum to continue equipping people with the skills needed for the green transition.

The social dimension of the green transition will be the main topic of the European Employment and Social Rights Forum on 16-17 November 2022. The full report of the Eurobarometer results as well as an infographic and country factsheets are available online.