Welfare and climate change events in September

Analysis of the most recent round of European Social Survey (ESS) data will be showcased at two events being held in Brussels next month.

Results from questions on the welfare state as well as on climate change and energy – fielded in Round 8 (2016/17) of the ESS – will be presented by leading academics in their field.

The past, present and future of European welfare attitudes will be held at the Thon Hotel EU on Tuesday 11 September.

The specially designed module of questions – Welfare attitudes in Europe – was also included in Round 4 (2008/09) of our survey and the data was analysed for our special Topline publication.

Wim van Oorschot, Professor of Social Policy at KU Leuven, led a team of external academics who designed the module, and will discuss attitudes towards welfare based on the 2008/09 data.

Analyses of welfare data collected in the most recent wave of the survey will be presented by Bart Meuleman, Associate Professor, KU Leuven.

Christian Staerklé, Associate Professor of Social Psychology at the University of Lausanne, will highlight some of the changes in Europeans’ welfare attitudes between 2008/09 and 2016/17.

The most recent welfare module sought opinions concerning the introduction of a universal basic income scheme for the first time. Femke Roosma (Assistant Professor of Sociology, Tilburg University) will present some of these findings.

Sharon Baute, Postdoctoral Researcher, KU Leuven, will conclude the session by assessing the future of European welfare policy.

Femke Roosma (University of Tilburg) will discuss universal basic income after a question on the topic was included in Round 8 for the first time whilst Sharon Baute (KU Leuven) will present on what the future holds for welfare policy.

The following week – on Wednesday 19 September – academics and researchers will come together for Public attitudes to climate change and energy, being held at the same venue.

Items on climate change and energy were included in the ESS for the first time during Round 8 and the module’s proposers will also be launching their new ESS Topline Results booklet.

The module of questions was proposed by a team of academics led by Wouter Poortinga, Professor of Environmental Psychology at Cardiff University, who will discuss attitudes towards climate change and whether respondents modify their behaviour to help prevent it.

Cardiff University’s Christina Demski will focus on public attitudes to energy, combining her work on energy security and acceptance of energy transitions.

Leo Barasi, author of The Climate Majority – a book that assesses the apathy of people to modify their behaviour to help prevent climate change – will discuss why climate apathy matters and what could change it.

The European Climate Foundation was established to help Europe foster the development of a low-carbon society and play an international leadership role to mitigate climate change. Katrin Riegger will discuss attitudes towards climate change with a specific focus on Germany.

Asher Minns of the University of East Anglia will discuss some of the research undertaken by the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research – a network of universities bringing together researchers from the social and natural sciences and engineering to develop sustainable responses to climate change.

Both events are free to attend but places are limited.