56% of EU citizens expect climate change policies to create more jobs than they destroy, according to a study released Tuesday by the European Investment Bank (EIB). Respondents, all nationals of the 27 Member States of the European Union, also think by a majority (61%) that they will improve their quality of life.
But this optimism comes mainly from countries in the west of the Old Continent, where 60% of nationals anticipate a positive impact of the ecological transition on the job market, and even 68% in Denmark or 65% in Portugal. In the east of the EU, 55% of respondents expect the number of jobs to decrease as a result of the transition. 66% of Slovaks think so and 64% of Latvians.
72% of French people are afraid of seeing their purchasing power drop
Individually, one in four Europeans also fears losing their job because they would become “incompatible” with the fight against climate change. Much more pronounced anxiety in Spain and Italy (34% of respondents worried) than in Luxembourg (9%) or Malta (12%). But the Europeans remain comparatively less anxious than the Chinese, who would be 45% to fear for the future of their employment, or than the Americans (32%).
The ecological transition is finally perceived as penalizing for purchasing power: 62% of people questioned fear that it will drop. The French are even more pessimistic (72%), like the nationals of the three Baltic countries (from 73% to 76% of respondents anticipate a drop in their purchasing power). Within the Union, Italians are the only majority (60%) to think that the ecological transition will increase their purchasing power.
The study was conducted by the EIB and the company BVA between August 26 and September 22, 2021 with a panel of 30,662 people over the age of 15, representative in each of the 30 countries concerned (the 27 of the EU plus USA, China and UK). Responses were collected through an online questionnaire.