More than 70% of European Union citizens believe that the biggest polluters and companies that do not sufficiently reduce their emissions should bear higher costs, according to new public opinion research conducted in six European countries.
The results indicate broad support for the ‘polluter pays’ principle, which is one of the foundations of the European Union’s Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), despite calls from certain industrial sectors and companies to relax the rules.
The survey, conducted by YouGov on behalf of the organization Beyond Fossil Fuels as part of a wider network of organizations, shows that this policy is also supported by citizens who otherwise vote for parties skeptical of EU climate policy.
The majority of respondents in France (66%), Italy (65%), the Netherlands (71%), Spain (68%), and Poland (40%), as well as (47%) in Germany, believe that energy-intensive industries such as steel, cement, and chemical production should pay for their carbon dioxide emissions.
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Half of the respondents believe that revenues from emissions charges should be directly channeled into industrial decarbonization, while only 18% of those surveyed think that energy-intensive industries should not have to pay for emissions at all.
When it comes to free emission allowances, 62% of citizens state that companies should receive them only if they invest in reducing future emissions, while 63% believe they should be granted exclusively to firms that implement just transition measures—including worker retraining, additional training, and ensuring quality working conditions.
The European Commission, according to the European Environmental Bureau (EEB), is preparing to present a proposal for amendments to the EU ETS system on July 15.
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