Views of EU citizens on economic growth and implications for climate policy

Green growth, the idea that economic growth can continue while simultaneously reducing environmental harms, has emerged as a dominant sustainability paradigm over recent decades. Yet, growing scepticism about the viability of such strategies has driven interest in alternative ‘post-growth’ perspectives amongst experts and researchers. Public opinion acts as a crucial component in shaping climate policymaking, however it remains unclear what people think about the potential for post-growth strategies. To obtain an extensive, multi-country picture of economic growth views among the public, we surveyed 19,328 citizens across 13 EU countries. We find that there is a misalignment between the views of EU citizens and researchers – nearly 60% of citizens hold pro-growth views versus 14% among academics. Nevertheless, for both groups post-growth views are more prevalent in countries that are wealthier and have lower inequality. Pro-growth views align with a diverse set of values – self-direction, conservation, benevolence and universalism – suggesting a complex foundation rather than a straightforward conflict of pro-growth and pro-environment sentiments. Indeed, post-growth views show little association with climate concern or policy support, suggesting the prioritisation of economic growth should not be interpreted as being motivated by self-interest but rather as a means for achieving sustainability.