A new YouGov survey across six European countries reveals strong public concern about climate change, with 65–83% of respondents worried about the crisis and large majorities favouring international cooperation to tackle it. However, while Europeans broadly support measures such as energy efficiency subsidies, tree planting and taxing major polluters, they are far less willing to accept policies that directly increase personal costs or require significant lifestyle changes. Published ahead of COP31, and reported in the Guardian, the findings highlight the challenge for policymakers of translating widespread climate concern into public support for more ambitious action.
IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol believes climate change will return to the forefront of the international agenda after two to three years of declining political attention. Speaking ahead of COP31 in Türkiye to Ian Johnston of the Financial Times, he argues that growing energy security concerns and high energy prices are accelerating investment in renewable energy, nuclear power and electric vehicles, bringing energy security and climate objectives into unusually close alignment. Despite recent setbacks in European climate ambition, Birol sees an opportunity to reinvigorate global action, particularly through commitments to triple renewable energy capacity and double the rate of energy efficiency improvements by 2030.
In the Financial Times, Pilita Clark argues that the global energy transition may be far less daunting than commonly assumed because electrification can dramatically reduce the energy wasted by fossil fuel technologies. With roughly two-thirds of primary energy currently lost before providing useful services, replacing combustion technologies with more efficient electric alternatives could deliver the same useful energy with substantially less energy input. As governments prepare for COP31 and consider a target to increase electricity’s share of final energy demand to 35% by 2035, the article highlights how electrification and energy efficiency can work together to cut emissions, reduce energy costs and strengthen energy security.
The Democrats’ sweeping gains in the US midterm elections have boosted investor confidence in clean energy, with renewable energy stocks rising on hopes of a shift in American energy and climate policy. However, as Simon Mundy explains in the Financial Times, President Trump retains significant powers to block new legislation, meaning the immediate impact may be greater congressional scrutiny of his administration’s energy policies rather than a major policy reversal. With energy affordability emerging as a central election issue, the results could nevertheless strengthen support for renewable energy, while increasing pressure to address the growing electricity demand and emissions associated with data centres.
The New York Times reported that William Nordhaus, the Nobel Prize-winning economist who died at 85, pioneered the idea that putting a price on carbon emissions was one of the most effective ways to combat climate change without seriously damaging economic growth. Despite his considerable influence on climate economics and policymaking, his proposals faced decades of fierce opposition from the fossil fuel industry and anti-tax movements, particularly in the United States. Although carbon pricing has been adopted in the European Union and several other countries, the article highlights how political and corporate resistance has prevented Nordhaus’s vision from achieving its full global potential.
In planning travel over the upcoming weeks, here are some useful ideas to help you along:
- There’s never been a more important moment to travel right in Europe with masses of overdevelopment, cruise ships, walking pollution and captive cetaceans still hot topics when it comes to responsible tourism issues in Europe. Check out the Responsible Travel website.
- Experience the beauty of Scotland this autumn.
- Autumn is the best time for a cycling trip in Europe because the summer heat is gone, the roads are quiet, and the trees turn bright red and gold. Check out Bike Tours in Europe for some inspiration.
- 2026 is the centenary of the death of the painter Claude Monet (1840-1926). To mark this anniversary, the Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris has organised an exhibition, entitled Monet, painting time, focusing on his body of work’s relationship with time. It continues until January 27, 2027.
Fanny Brice (1891-1951), an American comedian, singer, and actress, gives us much to think about this week: “Let the world know you as you are, not as you think you should be, because sooner or later, if you are posing, you will forget the pose, and then where are you?”
EiD welcomes your views about this week’s selection of posts on the zero-carbon energy transition:
- New EEA briefing on how to climate-proof critical infrastructure in Europe
- The global environmental law organisation, ClientEarth, provides briefing in advance of COP31
- COP31 approaches: can the world move from climate promises to implementation?
- Who should pay for the energy transition — consumers or taxpayers?
- Unlocking the untapped potential of industrial waste heat
- From passive consumers to active participants in Europe’s energy transition
- Preparing for a hotter future: Germany’s national climate stress test
- Climate change knows no municipal boundaries: rethinking adaptation in Canada
- Tripling renewables, doubling efficiency and accelerating electrification: is the world on track?
- When climate change undermines our ability to fight it
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