Conference Agenda

There is growing scepticism within the climate research community about whether green growth can be an effective strategy for protecting the environment while improving living standards. A recent survey of climate policy researchers found that over two-thirds held post-growth views and these were more prevalent among respondents from wealthier countries with lower levels of inequality. Building on these findings, we surveyed 19,328 citizens across 13 EU countries to examine public attitudes towards economic growth and their relationship with socio-demographic characteristics, political views, individual values, and climate policy preferences. While EU citizens were considerably more pro-growth than climate policy researchers, similar patterns emerged: growth scepticism was more prevalent in wealthier and more equal countries. At the individual level, pro-growth views were positively associated with being male, older, and politically right-leaning, as well as with trust in politicians and confidence in their climate action efforts. Notably, growth views showed little association with climate concern or support for climate policies. These findings suggest that public attitudes do not fit a simple trade-off between economic growth and environmental protection. Basic human values also had significant associations: self-direction and conservation values were positively associated with pro-growth views, but unexpectedly so were benevolence and equality. These findings highlight the need for a more nuanced understanding of public attitudes by exploring whether pro-growth opinions are primarily shaped by a belief in GDP growth as essential for human well-being or by techno-optimism about decoupling growth from environmental harm.