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According to the United Nations (2020), climate change is considered to be the “defining crisis” of this era and is unfortunately unfolding faster than anticipated . It is now more evident than ever that this is not a problem for the future, as most predicted outcomes are already unfolding before our eyes: temperatures are rising, sea ice is melting faster than ever before and sea levels are increasing (NASA, 2024). At the same time, climate change plays a major role in international peace and security, as global warming also affects food and water security on an transnational scale (United Nations, 2020). With that being said, January 2025 was the warmest January on record with temperatures 1.75°C above the pre-industrial level (Copernicus, 2025). This comes as no surprise, considering that 2024 recorded the highest temperatures in history (World Meteorological Organization, 2025).
The growing severity of this threat demands immediate action. That is why environmental policies designed to address and regulate climate change are more essential now than ever. Initiatives, like the EU Green Deal, which aims to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 (European Commission, 2019), are working towards this goal. In the midst of this crisis, decisive action is the only way forward. However, efforts to fight climate change are not without controversy and contradictions. Specifically, in recent years, opposition to green policies has risen across Europe, leading to resistance against the implementation of environmental initiatives and triggering political backlash (Tasch, 2024). This phenomenon, commonly referred to as “Greenlash”, is not limited to Europe but has also been observed in the United States (Tasch, 2024).
In the midst of the uncertainties of the contemporary world, the growing resistance to green policies presents a significant threat to the urgent progress needed in the climate sector. At the same time, it leads to important questions: What are the causes of “Greenlash” and how does it affect the implementation of climate policies?
There is no denying that this alarming turn of events has roots that extend far deeper than the surface. One of the most significant factors is the high cost associated with transitioning to green policies. Renewable energy is expensive. Electric vehicles tend to cost more than the gas-fueled ones. In other words, going “green” needs major investments (Stine, 2024). According to consultancy McKinsey & Company (2022), achieving carbon neutrality could cost more than $275 trillion by 2050. That means that the world’s economy would change entirely, since it calls for a total transformation of energy, transport and industrial systems worldwide, along with changes in agricultural and forestry practices (Keller & O’Neal, 2023). In today’s reality, as the cost-of-living crisis reaches new heights and inflation continues to rise, common people seem to drift away from green policies, as bearing extra costs and making additional changes to their daily lives appears increasingly unaffordable (Anderson, 2024).
This situation heavily affects all parts of our societies, yet agricultural professionals in particular find themselves at the center of this turmoil. The fear that all the changes required for climate adaptation are going to negatively affect their profits has led farmers across Europe to protest against the green transition (Anderson, 2024). Notably, in June 2024 -just before Europeans headed to the polls- there was significant farmer mobilization worldwide (including in the U.S.) against a new EU law targeting greenwashing, with the claim that it “penalises natural animal-derived fibers like wool and cashmere” (Manzanaro, 2024). However, resistance is not limited to farmers. As a prominent socioeconomic issue, it has deep roots in society. Amid these tensions, the debate shifts towards whether the current or projected environmental policies shift the burden of the energy transition and climate protection onto ordinary citizens -particularly homeowners and the lower income class- rather than offering truly effective solutions with economic justice (Rosenow, 2025). According to the Climate Inequality Report (2023) the top 10% of the global population is responsible for nearly half of all emissions, yet it bears only 3% of the relative income losses. At the same time, the bottom 50% of the global population is responsible for just 12% of emissions, yet it bears 75% of the relative income losses caused by climate change.
In a troubling turn of events, environmental policies have become an easy target for populist politicians worldwide. Concerns, uncertainty, and the economic implications surrounding green policies provide them with an opportunity to exploit this growing divide for political gain. They capitalize on issues such as economic inequality, the cost-of-living crisis and farmers’ distress, often framing them as consequences of actions taken by the “left-wing elite” (Anderson, 2024). A striking example occurred on September 27, 2023, when now U.S. President Donald Trump stated: “You can be loyal to American labor, or you can be loyal to the environmental lunatics, but you can’t really be loyal to both… Crooked Joe [Biden] is siding with the left-wing crazies who will destroy automobile manufacturing and will destroy our country itself” (The Economist, 2023). Beyond the US context, this reflects the tone given by certain political families to the debate over green policies, which further deepens the mistrust to green policies, as well as tightens the room for productive debates on the need to distribute fairly the costs of the transition so the poorer segments of our societies do not pay the higher price.
Furthermore, what is especially alarming and unsettling is the fact that this phenomenon is occurring in some of the world’s most advanced and progressive nations. In the EU this shift is more apparent than elsewhere. In the European Elections of 2019, building on the rising urgency for climate action, the Group of the Greens secured 70 seats, “their largest share of seats in European parliamentary elections,” according to the New York Times (Bennhold, 2019). Five years later, the gains were lost and the Greens fell to 53 seats in the European Parliament (European Parliament, 2024). Meanwhile, climate-sceptic parties have been on the rise throughout Europe, promoting an anti-climate agenda (portraying environmental policies as elitist and unfair) (Bremer, Gingrich, & Schwander, 2024). This marks a great shift in the way Europeans vote and the issues they prioritise. It highlights an accumulated as well as evident discontent, visible in countries all over Europe.
In particular, in Germany, the coalition government nearly collapsed in 2023 following widespread backlash over its proposal to ban new oil and gas heating systems starting in 2024. The policy was ultimately softened after strong public opposition to the idea of replacing existing boilers. The far-right AfD condemned the measure, accusing the government of imposing an “eco-dictatorship” (Tasch, 2024). The 2025 German federal election revealed that frustration with climate policy was a key motivator for right-wing voters, with nearly three-quarters of AfD supporters expressing scepticism toward further climate action (Niranjan, 2025). Another significant political shift can be observed in the results of the Dutch elections. In 2019, growing concerns over pollution pushed the Dutch government to impose stricter regulations on farm emissions. This caused mass demonstrations by farmers and ultimately fueled the rise of the Farmer-Citizen Movement (BBB) (Tasch, 2024). Backed by this support, the party -founded only in 2019- won the popular vote in the 2023 provincial elections and secured 16 seats in the Senate (Chini, 2023).
This shift is equally happening by national leaders, the stance of which was once openly supportive of the green transition but are now opposing net-zero goals. More specifically, Britain seems to have lost its status as a global leader in climate efforts and it is not making any progress towards meeting its 2050 net-zero target (Reuters, 2023). While Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was still in power he was actively pushing back on green transition goals by delaying the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars, marking one of his most significant policy shifts since taking office (Crerar, Harvey, & Stacey, 2023). In France, developments are moving in a similar direction with a slow but noticeable shift triggered by the rise of populist anti-environmental forces across Europe. In just a few years, France has gone from being one of the first EU countries to adopt a national due diligence law to to actively pushing to weaken EU rules that would require companies to report on their environmental footprint and potential human rights violations in their supply chains (Leali, 2025). In January’s “Conference of the Ambassadors” (and in light of the recent geoeconomic events fueled by the new US Administration) President Macron called for a “massive regulatory break” describing the new rules as a threat to the European economy and stated “We ourselves have supported certain regulations with very good intentions, and I share their philosophy. But at the moment we’re living in, we need to be able to suspend them until we’ve regained our ability to compete” (Élysée, 2025).
Across the Atlantic, the picture remains the same, if not worse. The United States has also seen a rise in resistance to green policies, but Trump’s re-election seems to signal a new wave of global decline on climate progress. The proudly “pro-business” POTUS has openly positioned himself against green policies and has previously stated, “it’s not possible to back American workers and environmental policies at the same time” (The White House, 2020). In the short time since returning to power, Donald Trump has made it clear that he aims to dismantle the Green New Deal -Joe Biden’s energy transition program- raising concerns about a complete reversal in the energy transition (Leparmentier, 2025). Additionally, he has launched an attack on wind turbines -the country’s most important source of renewable energy-, announced the abandonment of electric vehicle-friendly policies, and put a hold on funds approved by Congress for clean energy projects. Amidst all of this, he has declared the nation to be in an energy emergency, granting himself authority to fast track numerous fossil fuel projects (Gelles, Friedman, & Plumer, 2025). His infamous “We’re going to drill, baby, drill and do all of the things that we wanted to” promise in his inauguration speech, made right after his inauguration, serves as clear evidence of his complete abandonment of previous efforts to combat climate change (Gelles, Friedman, & Plumer, 2025). Despite all of this, perhaps the most catastrophic action he has taken so far was withdrawing the US from the Paris Agreement on his first day in office (Leparmentier, 2025).
After observing the events unfolding across Europe and the USA in recent years, it is clear that Greenlash has had a significant impact on climate policies and environmental progress. Right-wing, anti-environmental forces are on the rise, and political figures that were once at the forefront of the energy transition are now turning against it. At the same time, the implementation of green policies is being delayed, while the influence of anti-environmental lobbies continues to grow. While this situation is undoubtedly alarming, it does not signify the loss of the fight against climate change. On the contrary, it highlights that there is an urgent need for change, while addressing more adequately the underlying socioeconomic consequences. Policymakers need to seize this moment as an opportunity to adapt climate policies to current realities, taking into account the role that increasing inequalities, populist politics and public economics play in shaping public opinion on green policies. It is also crucial to remember that many of the policies that will determine how future climate goals are achieved still need to be agreed upon in the coming years, thus there is room for improvement, but not much time (Tasch, 2024). Therefore, it is now more important than ever for governments to prioritize climate policies that also address the interests and needs of individuals. By doing so, the negative stance toward climate policies may shift, and people may once again rally in support of climate progress.
Featured Image: https://unsplash.com/photos/windmill-surrounded-by-grass-during-daytime-w_a40DuyPAc
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