Details
- Publication date
- 5 June 2025
- Author
- European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency
Description
📘 Too Much or Not Enough? The Dual Nature of Green Discontent and Its Geography
🧠 Published by the Joint Research Centre – May 2025
Why do some citizens demand stronger climate action while others reject green policies altogether? A new study from the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) delves into this paradox, offering fresh insights into the spatial dynamics of public sentiment around the green transition.
It identifies three broad territorial profiles:
- Urban areas more exposed to climate risks but supportive of action
- Rural, carbon-dependent regions more prone to opposition
- Economically stable zones with mixed but less volatile views
The study urges place-based climate strategies that factor in these socio-economic and political divides. Recommendations include integrating territorial environmental justice and adjusting policy designs to build regional support for the green transition—rather than imposing one-size-fits-all solutions.
Authored by Sébastien Bourdin, Francesco Molica, and Anabela Marques Santos, the paper contributes to the growing debate on how to make Europe’s green policies not just effective, but also fair and politically sustainable.
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