Weatherwatch: EU survey gives a few hints on voter-friendly climate policies

Survey finds 70% of people would support a fare-cutting rail fund – but taxes on beef and flying are less popular

Putting in place policy on the issue of the climate and how we deal with it is a political decision. However, generally politicians seem to want to avoid measures that might make them unpopular in the short term, even if action would mean saving voters’ children from destructive weather later this century.

But an EU-wide survey on taxes and subsidies showing the popularity of various fiscal measures to meet climate goals could be a useful guide to chancellors who want to be popular and do the right thing by the next generation.

The survey found that overall, 70% of people would support an EU rail fund to halve fares across the continent, and 55% would support household insulation mandates, with subsidies for poorer households, and banning private jets. Not nearly so popular are taxes on beef and air flights, and least popular of all are taxes or bans on fossil-fuel cars.

The UK was excluded because it is no longer an EU country, but the survey shows that action on climate change is much more widely supported in southern Europe (for example, Greece, France and Italy) than in eastern Europe (such as Poland and the Czech Republic). Better-educated people and younger people are far more likely to support action, so generally it is those already most affected who want braver politicians.

Cover photo:  The survey found that the majority of people would support an EU rail fund to halve rail fares across the continent. Photograph: olrat/Alamy