Ahead of the EU election scheduled to take place from 6 to 9 June, polls indicate that tackling climate change is no longer a top campaign issue.  Quite the contrary. Analyzing the electoral messages with a special focus for Bulgaria, Euractiv concluded that “the number one election punching bag is the European Green Deal, and it’s no different in many other EU countries.

The ambitious plans included in the Green deal strategy aim to make the EU carbon neutral by 2050. However, the initiative comes at a time when inflation and high energy prices, among others, are  affecting the day to day lives of EU citizens and worries about climate change, while legitimate, are no longer seen as a top priority.  

According to Eurobarometer’s latest figure, released last month, “citizens believe that the fight against poverty and social exclusion (33%), supporting public health (32%), boosting the economy and creating new jobs as well as bolstering EU defense and security (both at 31%) should be the main issues for the electoral campaign”.  

Action against climate change remains relevant for just 27% of the citizens, dropping down the priority list. Compared to the same poll taken in 2019, three months before the European elections that year, defense and security became more important for EU citizens. 

“Climate change is now the main topic only in Sweden, while in 2019 it came first in the latter as well as in the Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany,” states the report. In contrast, the lowest proportions of respondents who mention climate as a priority are in  Latvia (6%), Cyprus (9%), as well as Bulgaria and Estonia (both 10%). Only 14% of Romanians believe that action against climate change is a topic to be discussed during the electoral campaign. 

“What’s going to happen is that we are going to have, most likely, a European Parliament that’s more right-wing, more conservative and less ambitious on climate,” according to a Phuc Vinh Nguyen, a researcher at the Jacques Delors Institute quoted by Montel News.