Training and workshops: Understanding the territorial patterns of climate discontent

Join us for a half-day discussion exploring the relationship between climate change, climate mitigation policies, and regional discontent in Europe. Across Europe, discontent is fueling the rise of anti-systemic sentiments, often in regions negatively impacted by economic transformations, including climate policies.

The JRC Exploratory Research Activity on Climate Discontent aims to explore the relationship between climate change, climate mitigation policies, and regional discontent in Europe, with a focus on understanding how these three dimensions interact in a spatial dimension.

Workshop Details

Date: Tuesday 11 March 2025

Time: 09:00 - 13:00 (CET)

Location: Brussels, Belgium

Programme

• 09:00 - 09:30 (CET): Registration
• 09:30 - 09:40 (CET): Welcome Carlos Torrecilla Salinas (Head of Unit - European Commission, Joint Research Centre)
• 09:40 - 10:40 (CET): Discontent and climate: How to measure the territorial dimensions? Chair: Andrea Conte (TEDAM Team Coordinator - European Commission, Joint Research Centre) Guest speaker: Sébastien Bourdin (Professor, EM Normandie, France) Discussants:
  • Francesco Molica (Director - EURADA / Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium)
  • Aleksandra Sojka (Assistant Professor - University Carlos III of Madrid, Spain)
  • Katerzyna Kopczewska (Associate Professor - University of Warsaw, Poland)
  • Vicente Royuela (Professor - Universitat de Barcelona, Spain)
• 10:40 - 11:00 (CET): Coffee break
• 11:00 - 12:00 (CET): Exploring the relationship between discontent and climate effect/policies Chair: Francesco Molica (Director - EURADA / Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium) Guest speaker: Andrés Rodríguez-Pose (Professor - London School of Economics, UK) Discussants:
  • Anabela M. Santos (REMO Team leader - European Commission, Joint Research Centre)
  • Reinhilde Veugelers (Professor - KULeuven & Bruegel, Belgium)
  • Nicola Francesco Dotti (Economic and policy analyst - European Commission, DG R&I)
  • Reena Badiani-Magnusson (Program Leader - World Bank, Belgium)
• 12:00 - 13:00 (CET): Cohesion policy, public finance and climate discontent Chair: Andrea Conte (TEDAM Team Coordinator - European Commission, Joint Research Centre) Guest speaker: Ugo Fratesi (Professor - Politecnico di Milano, Italy) Discussants:
  • Rachel Lancry Beaumont (Head of Unit - European Committee of the Regions)
  • Joaquim Oliveira Martins (Counsellor - CEPII and University Paris-Dauphine-PSL, France)
  • Alison Hunter (Senior advisor - European Policy Centre, Belgium)
  • Camilla Lenzi (Professor - Politecnico di Milano, Italy)
• 13:00 (CET): Concluding remarks and networking lunch

About the Exploratory Research Activity

This research activity on climate discontent aims to put together three thematic areas (climate change/policies and public opinion/discontent) and to measure them over time. This type of analysis - related to green transition, climate change and perceptions and attitudes of the European public opinion - is extremely relevant for policy makers, as discontent may negatively affect the acceptance and implementation of climate mitigation policies.

Furthermore, the research activity seeks to assess how territorial factors are correlated to citizens’ perception towards climate change and climate mitigation policies.