BRUSSELS — Three in four European Union citizens say moving away from fossil fuels is urgent, and nearly nine in ten want politicians to prioritise renewable energy, according to a major survey by the European Investment Bank (EIB) published on Thursday, November 5, 2026 — just days before world governments gather in Turkey for the COP31 climate talks.
Illustration: A European city skyline with wind turbines and rooftop solar panels, symbolising the shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy.
The findings, shared exclusively with Reuters, show broad public support for rapid climate action across the EU's 27 countries, even as governments face wars, popular protests and strained public finances. The survey comes at a politically charged moment: some political and industry leaders around the world have argued for continued oil and gas use as a way to protect jobs and growth, while the EU — heavily dependent on energy imports — has felt the price shock of the US-Israeli war on Iran.
What Happened
The eighth EIB Climate Survey, conducted with Ipsos BVA between August 3 and 25, 2026, polled 23,000 people and weighted the results to be representative of each country's population. It was the first edition of the survey to ask directly whether people viewed the energy transition as urgent — and the answer, in the EIB's reading, was a clear yes.
Some 87 percent of respondents said they wanted the shift to low-carbon energy to be prioritised, up from 82 percent in a comparable survey in 2022, when Europe was gripped by an energy crisis linked to the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Asked which low-carbon source should be the focus, 52 percent chose solar, ahead of wind power at 37 percent and nuclear at 19 percent, making nuclear the least popular option among those listed.
EIB Group President Nadia Calviño told Reuters that the result carried both an environmental and an economic message. "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," she said.
The survey also found that support for speed does not mean support for dependence. More than half of those surveyed — 55 percent — said they would prefer the EU to develop its own clean technology, even if it arrived more slowly, rather than rely on imports. China has established a lead in wind and solar power as well as batteries, and the preference for home-grown capacity points to an industrial-policy debate that is likely to run through the COP31 talks and beyond.
Illustration: European citizens taking part in a climate survey, with solar panels and wind turbines in the background.
Background
The survey lands in the final days before the 2026 UN Climate Change Conference, known as COP31, which opens on November 9 in Antalya, Turkey, and runs until November 20. According to the International Institute for Sustainable Development's preview of the conference, the meeting will include the 31st session of the Conference of the Parties, the eighth meeting of the parties to the Paris Agreement, and the start of the second Global Stocktake — the formal assessment of collective progress under the Paris Agreement that informs the next round of national climate pledges.
It will also be the first UN climate conference since the United States' formal withdrawal from the Paris Agreement took effect in January 2026, a backdrop that has sharpened questions about who will lead, and who will pay for, the transition. The EIB itself has sharply increased its energy lending: annual EIB energy financing has doubled since 2022, reaching €33 billion (about $37 billion) in 2025, and the bank said it signed €100 billion in new financing and advisory services for more than 870 projects in 2025.
A second report published days earlier underscored how far the world remains from meeting the adaptation side of the bargain. The UN's 2026 Adaptation Gap Report, reported by Reuters on November 4, found that funding from developed countries rose by just $1 billion to $28.2 billion in 2024 — a fraction of the $305 billion a year the report estimates developing nations need to adapt to worsening heatwaves, droughts, wildfires and floods.
Adaptation finance needs in developing countries are expected to reach $420 billion a year by 2035, the report found. Even an agreement reached at last year's climate talks in Brazil to triple adaptation finance for developing countries, aiming for $120 billion a year by 2035, would still leave a gap of more than two-thirds, according to the report. "The world is not ready to adapt to current climatic conditions, never mind what overshoot of 1.5 C will bring," Inger Andersen, executive director of the UN Environment Programme, said.
Why It Matters
For negotiators heading to Antalya, the EIB survey offers something they rarely get in such clear numbers: evidence that voters in a major bloc still want faster action, even when energy costs and geopolitics dominate the headlines. Governments under pressure over household bills and industrial competitiveness often cite public fatigue as a reason to slow down; this survey points the other way, at least in Europe.
The preference for solar and wind over nuclear, and for European-made clean technology over faster imports, also matters for policy design. It suggests that the transition's political durability may depend less on the cheapest available hardware and more on whether citizens see the new energy system as their own — built at home, cutting their bills, and reducing exposure to volatile fossil-fuel markets. Reuters reported that the survey found the US-Israeli war on Iran, by driving fossil-fuel prices higher, had convinced more Europeans that renewables were the best way to address costs.
The adaptation gap, meanwhile, is the other half of the COP31 agenda. Countries will examine why they remain off track on a COP29 pledge made in Baku to deliver $300 billion a year in climate finance to developing countries — close to the UN's estimated $305 billion adaptation requirement. With global temperatures projected to exceed the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold within a few years, the report argues, adaptation can no longer be treated as a secondary item: restoring ecosystems and strengthening infrastructure must accelerate alongside emissions cuts.
Illustration: Delegates gathered at an international climate conference hall ahead of the COP31 talks in Antalya, Turkey.
What Happens Next
All eyes now turn to Antalya, where negotiators from November 9 to 20 will test whether public support in Europe — and the stark adaptation numbers from the UN — translate into concrete commitments on finance, technology and the next round of national climate plans. The second Global Stocktake beginning at COP31 will set the frame for those pledges, measuring how far current policies fall short of the Paris Agreement's goals.
Watch in particular for any movement on the $300 billion-a-year climate finance pledge, for signals on adaptation funding beyond the $120 billion-by-2035 tripling goal, and for how the EU positions its own clean-technology ambitions against China's established lead. The EIB survey suggests European voters will be watching too — and that, for now, they want their governments to move faster, not slower.
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FAQ
What did the EIB survey find?
Three quarters of EU citizens said moving away from fossil fuels is urgent, and 87 percent wanted politicians to prioritise the shift to low-carbon energy, according to the EIB Climate Survey of 23,000 people conducted in August 2026.
Which energy sources do Europeans prefer?
Solar was the most popular focus at 52 percent, ahead of wind power at 37 percent and nuclear at 19 percent, the survey found.
When and where is COP31?
COP31, the 2026 UN Climate Change Conference, runs from November 9 to 20, 2026, in Antalya, Turkey.
How big is the climate adaptation funding gap?
The UN's 2026 Adaptation Gap Report estimates developing nations need $305 billion a year to adapt, but developed-country funding reached only $28.2 billion in 2024. Needs are expected to hit $420 billion a year by 2035.
Why do Europeans link renewables to lower costs?
Reuters reported that the survey found the US-Israeli war on Iran, by pushing fossil-fuel prices higher, convinced more people that renewable energy was the best way to address energy costs for households and businesses.
Sources
Reuters, "Most EU citizens back an urgent transition to greener fuel, survey shows," November 5, 2026; Reuters, "Rich countries fall far short on climate adaptation funding, UN says," November 4, 2026 (UN Environment Programme 2026 Adaptation Gap Report); International Institute for Sustainable Development, Earth Negotiations Bulletin preview, "2026 UN Climate Change Conference – Antalya, Türkiye."
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