POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS
»Design packages pai ing s ingen measu es wi h household
elie , local co-bene i s and clea communica ion o e icacy
o shi he ‘Condi ional Middle’, and wi h hem he o e all
majo i y, owa ds sus ained suppo
»Design policies conside ing ai ness, equi y pe cep ions,
and egional con ex s
»Align e enue alloca ion wi h ci izen p e e ences (suppo
o ulne able households and in es men s in adap a ion) o
inc ease accep abili y o he EU Emissions T ading Sys em
(EU ETS)
KEY FINDINGS
* ≈ 36% o Eu opeans can be ca ego ized as 'Suppo e s' o cli-
ma e policies, meaning hey suppo a majo i y o he policies
and oppose almos none. Whe eas 21% oppose a majo i y o
he policies and suppo almos none
* ≈ 33% can be ca ego ized as 'Condi ional Middle' o clima e
policy suppo , meaning hey a e suppo i e o some policies
bu oppose o he s. The emainde a e consis en ly neu al
* ≈ 70% suppo EU Rail Fund c ea ion and 55% suppo house-
hold insula ion manda es while ≈ 70% oppose new axes on
pollu ing beha io , such as on ca s, mea and ligh s
* Women, highe -educa ed, and younge indi iduals a e con-
sis en ly mo e suppo i e ac oss all coun ies
CAPABLE conduc ed su eys in 2024 and 2025 among
35,000 Eu opean ci izens o in es iga e public opinion on
a se o clima e policies.
1. Public Suppo o EU
Clima e Policies
21%
oppose s 10%
neu als 36%
suppo e s
33%
condi ional middle
The same ci izens we e also asked how hey pe cei e
he link be ween economic g ow h and sus ainabili y.
2. Pe cep ion o he link be ween
economic g ow h and sus ainabili y mode a ely
p o-g ow h
35%
indi e en o
g ow h
32%
s ongly
p o-g ow h
25%
8% - g ow h scep ical
»Recognise ha mos ci izens iew g ow h and sus ainabili y
as compa ible goals
»F ame clima e policies o highligh co-bene i s o economic
s abili y and social wellbeing
* 60% o Eu opeans hold p o-g ow h iews, seeing economic
g ow h as necessa y o s abili y, wellbeing, and en i on-
men al p o ec ion
* P o-g ow h suppo is highe in he EU coun ies wi h lowe
income and highe inequali y
Achie ing clima e neu ali y in he EU and
globally equi es ambi ious and e ec i e
clima e a ge s, and he abili y o implemen
widely accep ed policies. In his con ex ,
he Ho izon Eu ope p ojec CAPABLE aims
o p o ide ecommenda ions o designing
socially and economically accep able clima e
policy measu es o 2030 and beyond.
CAPABLE d aws on economics, sociology,
poli ical science and psychology o cap u e
clima e policy’s mul idimensional ou comes
and implica ions.
Key esul s and ecommenda ions o policymake s
o design socially and economically accep able
policy measu es o clima e neu ali y
This p ojec has ecei ed unding om he Eu opean
Union’s Ho izon Eu ope esea ch and inno a ion p o-
g amme unde g an ag eemen n°101056891.
Views and opinions exp essed a e howe e hose o
he au ho s only and do no necessa ily e lec hose
o he Eu opean Union.
Web: h ps://capableclima e.eu
Mail: in o@capableclima e.eu
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17700711
ClimA e Policy Accep aBiLi y
Economic F amewo k
CAPABLE FACTSHEET
C edibili y is undamen al o clima e policy success.
3. C edibili y o he EU 2030 Clima e
Commi men s
POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS
»P io i ise consis en , long- e m clima e commi men s o
enhance he c edibili y o EU commi men s o ci izens
»Ensu e anspa en communica ion abou p og ess and
achie abili y owa d 2030 a ge s o b idge he c edibili y gap
KEY FINDINGS
* Eu opeans gi e only a 20% p obabili y o mee ing he EU 55%
a ge by 2030
* On a e age, he same ci izens expec only a 43% emission
educ ion by 2030
* Policymake s sys ema ically unde es ima e public scep icism
90%
1990 2000 2010 2020
32.5%
2030 2040 2050
100%
55% - EU a ge
46% - Expe s Belie s
43% - Gene al public
50% - Policy Make s
Ca bon p icing has been shown o be an e ec i e ool
o mi iga ion ac oss he wo ld, bu he e a e dispa i ies
ac oss egions and implemen a ions.
4. Ca bon P icing Pe o mance and
Expansion
»Re o m he Ma ke S abili y Rese e o imp o e esilience
agains specula ion
»Main ain s ong, consis en policy signals o ma ke con i-
dence
»T ansi ion om ee allowances o auc ioning o imp o e
emission educ ions wi h minimal ad e se job impac s
»Facili a e subs an ial in e na ional coope a ion h ough
clima e clubs wi h bo de adjus men s
* On a e age, he EU ETS achie ed a 7% emission educ ion in
he EU e en be o e ecen p ice su ges
* The ecen conside able CO₂ pe mi p ice inc ease o o e
100€/ on o CO₂ can be a ibu ed o enhanced policy c edibili-
y and ma ke o esigh
* The ETS 2 p o ides a cos -e icien amewo k o buildings
and anspo bu equi es complemen a y subsidies o
household a o dabili y
* The Ca bon Bo de Adjus men Mechanism add esses ca bon
leakage and s eng hens global ca bon p icing, bu i s success
depends on obus indus ial policies and in e na ional coop-
e a ion
77
470
13
98
Es ima es S udies
EU ETS
All
−7.27%
−10.42%
% change in emissions
Policymake s and poli icians a e en us ed wi h he chal-
lenging ask o ansla ing clima e science in o long- e m
policies ha will be de e minan o he well-being o he
nex gene a ions.
5. Policymake s’ ole and communi y
engagemen in clima e ac ion
»S eng hen mul i-le el policy cohe ence and p o ide
ins i u ional suppo o ensu e be e coo dina ion and com-
munica ion be ween EU, na ional, and egional go e nance
s uc u es
»Enhance he lexibili y o unding mechanisms o he
speci ic needs o ulne able egions and sec o s based on
s akeholde s’ pa icipa ion
»Build unc ional unde s anding among policymake s on he
limi a ions, unce ain ies, and unknowns o wha science
inds
* Clima e change p esence in Eu opean pa y p og ammes has
inc eased o e he las h ee decades, pa icula ly o le -wing
poli ical pa ies
* Local s akeholde s poin ou he misma ch be ween ambi-
ious EU-le el a ge s and he capaci y o na ional and egional
ac o s o implemen hem, due o limi ed unding, educed
pa icipa ion o local s akeholde s as well as adminis a i e and
egula o y ba ie s
* S uc u al ba ie s o ci izen engagemen in clima e policies
include: mis us in ins i u ions, lack o ime o pa icipa e,
limi ed in o ma ion and awa eness, and un amilia i y wi h pa -
icipa o y ools
On he CAPABLE websi e, you can ind a se o
p oduc s designed o suppo policymake s’
wo k in ackling clima e change: wo online
dashboa ds, six policy b ie s, a handbook and
aining ma e ials among o he s
