On March 11, 2026, the PRISMA project hosted a webinar on european public support for climate mitigation measures. Read below to discover more about it.

Presentantion 1: Identifying and validating the strongest predictors of informed energy policy support and support for climate mitigation measures across Europe

Speaker: Morris Krainz, UNIGE

Key takeaways:

1. Beliefs about how a policy impacts society and the environment as well as perceptions about distributional fairness, together with the affective responses that accompany these beliefs and perceptions are the strongest predictors of energy policy support. 
2. Designing policies in accordance with public concerns about impacts on society, the environment and fairness may help speed up policy implementation as policies are more likely to receive public support if these concerns are taken into account in the policy design phase.
3. Similarly, if the amount of information that can feasibly be communicated is limited, the communication of these impacts should be prioritized, as this information is most likely to help citizens form an opinion on a policy in line with their values and concerns. 

Presentantion 2: European public support for climate mitigation measures is resilient to uncertainty information

Speaker: Valeria Sorgato, UNIGE

Key takeaways: 

• Overall, informed European citizens show greater support and more positive feelings toward nature-based solutions than technical options, while behavioural change, such as adopting a more plant-based diet, is the least favoured for climate change mitigation. However, support and affective responses vary considerably across countries, with the Netherlands and Poland consistently showing the lowest levels of support and affect across nearly all measures, particularly for a shift towards sustainable diets.
• Although support and affective responses to climate change mitigation measures decline after people learn about uncertainties regarding their feasibility and effectiveness, overall views remain positive. That said, when perceptions of social and technological uncertainties about a measure are high, they can significantly erode acceptance and lead to more negative affective responses.
• Considering the heterogeneity in support for different mitigation measures and across countries may help modelers design more socially realistic, country-specific pathways. Additionally, considering social and technological uncertainty when designing policies and communication strategies may help policymakers anticipate public resistance and craft more effective, targeted messaging that maintains support.

Q&A summary:

During the webinar, several questions focused on the study’s methodology and the implications of its findings. One discussion addressed whether the results might have differed if support had been measured for specific policies rather than for mitigation measures in general. While the study assessed general support for mitigation measures, in practice these are implemented through concrete policy instruments—such as taxes, incentives, or subsidies—and the design of these policies can influence public acceptance. For example, even when a mitigation measure is broadly supported, opposition may emerge if the specific policy implementing it is perceived as unfair.

The discussion also highlighted the study’s key contribution: comparing the predictive strength of cognitive factors—such as perceived societal or environmental impacts and fairness perceptions—with affective responses, including emotions like hope, pride, worry, and anger elicited by policies. The findings suggest that while cognitive predictors play an important role in explaining energy policy support, affective responses are equally strong or sometimes even stronger predictors. Overall, perceiving policies as beneficial and fair, as well as experiencing positive emotions, was associated with higher support, while negative emotions were linked to lower support. Sociodemographic characteristics such as age, gender, education, or income played a limited role, whereas perceptions of how a policy would affect one’s personal financial situation were more influential.

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Watch the recording: https://youtu.be/R4T9mMi1ZlM

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This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 101081604 – PRISMA. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.