By Simon Jessop
LONDON, Nov 5 (Reuters) – Three quarters of European Union citizens say moving away from fossil fuels is urgent and nearly nine in ten want politicians to prioritise renewable energy sources, a survey of 23,000 people by the European Investment Bank showed on Thursday.
The findings, shared exclusively with Reuters, found popular support for rapid action ahead of the COP31 climate talks next week, even as governments are under pressure to deal with wars, popular protests and strained finances.
Globally, some political and industry leaders have backed continued use of oil and gas as a way to provide jobs and growth.
But in the import-dependent EU, the impact of the US-Israeli war on Iran on driving fossil fuel prices higher has convinced more people to support renewable energy as the best way to address costs, the survey found.
“In a rapidly shifting geopolitical landscape, this is both the right thing to do for the planet and the smart thing to do for our economies, in order to bring down energy costs for businesses and households,” EIB Group President Nadia Calviño told Reuters.
Some 87% of respondents across the EU’s 27 countries said they wanted the shift to low carbon energy to be prioritised, up from 82% in a survey in 2022 during a previous energy crisis linked to the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Nuclear was the least popular low-energy fuel source, as 52% said solar should be the focus, ahead of wind power at 37% and nuclear at 19%.
Annual EIB energy financing has doubled since 2022, reaching €33 billion ($37.06 billion) in 2025, it said. In 2025, the EIB signed €100 billion in new financing and advisory services for over 870 projects.
While supporting urgency, EU citizens prioritise self- reliance.
China has established a lead in wind and solar power, as well as batteries, but more than half of those surveyed — 55% — said they would prefer the EU to develop its own clean tech, even if it was slower to arrive.
The eighth EIB Climate Survey, conducted with Ipsos bva between August 3 and 25, weighted results to be representative of each country’s population.
It for the first time posed the question of whether people viewed the energy transition as urgent.
($1 = 0.8905 euros)
(Editiing by Barbara lewis)
