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Energy, Climate change, Environment
Energy

Eurobarometers on energy

The Eurobarometer is a polling instrument used to monitor the state of public opinion in Europe.

Europeans’ attitudes towards EU energy policy

The Special Eurobarometer 555 is the second specific and energy-focused survey conducted by the European Commission.

It was carried out in April-May 2024, with over 26 000 citizens from all EU countries responding to 12 questions on a variety of energy-related topics. 

Like the previous version from 2019, it was carried out at the turn of the Commission mandate. 

The survey comes at an important moment, as the EU has emerged from the worst of the energy crisis. With the new Commission mandate about to start, its results could feed into the design of the policy priorities that align with citizens’ expectations. 

The key findings include

  • when asked what EU energy means to them, affordability of energy prices comes out as the most important aspect. To ensure energy affordability, the top measures supported are helping energy-poor households (53%), reducing energy consumption (50%), and promoting self-production and consumption (50%)
  • investing in innovative energy technologies is also a top priority, reflecting the EU's ambition for sustainable prosperity and competitiveness
  • 77% of citizens taking personal actions to consume less energy at home showing that decreasing energy consumption is another key concern. The EU energy label is well-known, influencing purchasing decisions for energy and money savings
  • 8 in 10 citizens agree that working towards climate neutrality in 2050 will bring prominent benefits in terms of new jobs and investments in the clean energy sector 
  • 77% of respondents are in favour of more coordination at EU level on energy-related matters 

Special EB 555 report and country factsheets

Strong support for the EU's energy policy

The Standard Eurobarometer 99 was conducted in May-June 2023 and amongst its key findings, there was wide support from EU citizens for the energy transition and strong backing for the EU's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

More than 8 in 10 EU citizens think that the EU should invest massively in renewable energies, such as wind and solar power (85%), and that increasing the energy efficiency of buildings, transport, and goods will make us less dependent on energy producers from outside the EU (82%). 

Furthermore, 81% of respondents agree that reducing imports of oil and gas and investing in renewable energy is important for our overall security and 82% say that the EU should reduce its dependency on Russian sources of energy as soon as possible.

EU's response to the energy crisis

The Flash Eurobarometer 514 'EU's response to the energy crisis' was conducted in the 27 EU countries between 23 and 30 November 2022 and interviewed 26,337 citizens. The survey sought input from EU citizens about their attitudes toward the EU’s response to the energy challenges and the war in Ukraine. Furthermore, it explores how energy challenges have impacted perceptions about democracy and solidarity among EU countries.

The survey explores topics such as EU citizens’ opinions to the EU response to current energy challenges and their willingness to cut down on their energy consumption via a range of different actions. 

It shows that the large majority of EU citizens are positive about recent EU actions to tackle the energy crisis. In particular, more than 8 in 10 EU citizens (82%) agree that the EU should continue to take actions to reduce its dependency on Russian fossil fuels.

Europeans’ attitudes on EU energy policy

The Special Eurobarometer 492 on Europeans’ attitudes on EU energy policy was carried out in the 28 EU countries between 9 and 25 May 2019 to gauge, for the first time, the EU citizens’ opinions about aspects of EU energy policy. Its objectives were to

  • review what citizens think EU energy policy is about and what it should aim to achieve 
  • assess awareness of and effectiveness of energy efficiency labelling 
  • investigate what citizens believe the EU’s priorities for energy policy should be in the next decade

The full report and the individual reports per EU country were published on 11 September 2019.

The main conclusions drawn from the survey showed that the EU energy policy is about moving away from fossil fuels, decreasing consumption and lowering energy prices. Therefore, access to secure, clean and affordable energy needs to be prioritised through strong cooperation and increasing investment in research and technology.