How do EU citizens feel about climate action and corporate accountability?

Around three-quarters of adults in 10 EU countries believe that large companies with 250 or more employees should be held accountable for human rights and environmental harms in their supply chains, a new Ipsos poll shows.

Respondents in Sweden and Spain appear to hold this view particularly strongly.

The survey, commissioned by Global Witness and Amnesty International and conducted by Ipsos, interviewed 10,861 people across Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Spain, and Sweden.

It follows negotiations to review the Corporate Sustainability and Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), a landmark EU bill that holds companies accountable for human rights violations and environmental damage in their supply chains.

On 13 October, MEPs voted in the European Parliament to amend the CSDDD to apply to companies with 1,000 employees and a yearly turnover of €450 million, as well as to firms employing more than 5,000 people and with a turnover of €1.5 billion.

After Monday's vote in the Parliament, lawmakers will need to ratify the decision during a plenary session in Strasbourg, likely due on 20 October. Once the full house has cast its vote, negotiations between the parliament, the European Council and the European Commission will begin.

How should the EU enforce its green laws?

Three in four people say it is important that the EU uphold its environmental laws within its member states, with respondents in Italy (85%), Lithuania (82%) and Denmark (80%) agreeing the most.

Over 60% of the bloc's citizens say large companies should face legal obligations to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

This position had strong support in Italy (69%), France (68%), and Sweden (67%).

Respondents believe that prosecuting large companies in court and requiring them to pay damages for loss or suffering is the most appropriate way to hold them accountable for human rights violations.

Meanwhile, 45% of those surveyed stated that publicly disclosing any instances of environmental harm is the best way of holding large companies accountable.

Yet, only 23% of respondents said they have heard or read any discussions about changes to the European Union's environmental and climate legislation in the past 12 months.

Impact of the US on the EU

More than half also said that it was now more important for the EU to uphold its own environmental laws, since the US administration scaled back on its own environmental protections.

US President Donald Trump has committed to boosting American fossil fuel production and has criticised green energy initiatives.

Since returning to the White House, he has also dismantled many of former President Joe Biden's green energy and climate policies.