Six Faces of Climate Policy Support in the EU

Climate change mitigation requires urgent policy action from high-income economies, yet its sociopolitical feasibility depends heavily on public support. Drawing on a survey from 13 European countries, we identify Six Faces of climate policy support across two dimensions: overall support and preference stability. We identify the largest group of people are those in the middle of the spectrum, with moderate views and varying policy perceptions (Conditional Middle). Further, we evaluate how perceptions vary across the Six Faces policy types, the perceived impacts of policies (positive and negative), and prioritisation of how government should be distributed. These findings demonstrate that even within groups commonly viewed as resistant to climate policies, most are not ‘lost causes’ and can, in fact, support well-designed policies. Overall, our findings underscore the diversity of climate policy support and the importance of tailored approaches to build broad and lasting public backing.