Tracking EU citizens’ interest in EC priorities using online search data : the European Green Deal.
Date: 2021-02-15
Institutions: Joint Research Centre
Subjects: EU Member State, Internet, clean technology, climate change policy, eating habits, ecosystem, environmental indicator, pollution control measures, renewable energy, report, sustainable mobility, waste management

EUR 30580 EN

Tracking EU Citizens’ Interest in EC Priorities Using Online Search DataThe European Green Deal© European Union, 2021JointResearchCentreThis publication is a report by the Joint Research Centre (JRC), the European Commission’s science and knowledge service. It aims to 
provide evidence-based scientific support to the European policymaking process. The scientific output expressed does not imply a 
policy position of the European Commission. Neither the European Commission nor any person acting on behalf of the Commission is 
responsible for the use that might be made of this publication. For information on the methodology and quality underlying the data used 
in this publication for which the source is neither Eurostat nor other Commission services, users should contact the referenced source. 
The designations employed and the presentation of material on the maps do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on 
the part of the European Union concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the 
delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

Manuscript completed in January 2021

Contact information
Marco Colagrossi
Valentina Alberti

European Commission
Joint Research Centre
Unit I.1 - Monitoring, Indicators and Impact Evaluation
Via E. Fermi 2749, I-21027, Ispra (VA), Italy
Email: marco.colagrossi@ec.europa.eu - valentina.alberti@ec.europa.eu

EU Science Hub
https://ec.europa.eu/jrc

JRC123917

EUR 30580 EN

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ISBN 978-92-76-29429-0          

ISSN 1831-9424          doi:10.2760/18216           KJ-NA-30580-EN-N

Luxembourg: Publication Office of the European Union, 2021

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How to cite this document: 

Alberti, V., Caperna, G., Colagrossi, M., Geraci, A., Mazzarella, G., Panella, F. and Saisana M., Tracking EU Citizens’ Interest in EC Priorities 
Using Online Search Data. The European Green Deal, EUR 30580 EN, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2021, 
ISBN 978-92-76-29429-0, doi:10.2760/18216, JRC123917.

Tracking EU Citizens’ Interest in EC Priorities Using Online Search DataThe European Green DealTracking EU Citizens’ Interest in EC Priorities Using Online Search DataThe European Green DealContents

Highlights ........................................................................................................................................................

02

The European Green Deal ....................................................................................................................

03

1. Behaviour ..................................................................................................................................................

05

Mobility ................................................................................................................................................

06

Energy ..................................................................................................................................................

08

Waste ...................................................................................................................................................

10

Nutrition ..............................................................................................................................................

12

2. Awareness ................................................................................................................................................

15

Pollution ..............................................................................................................................................

16

Clean energy .....................................................................................................................................

18

Ecosystem ..........................................................................................................................................

20

Climate ................................................................................................................................................

22

3. The effects of policies on people’s interests .......................................................................

25

Causal insights using Green Deal-related web searches ........................................

26

Methodology ...............................................................................................................................................

29

        1

Highlights

• The European Green Deal is the most ambitious and challenging goal set by the
European Commission. Aiming to make the European Union, the world’s second-largest 
economy, climate-neutral by 2050, the European Green Deal will transform EU societies 
and industries. 

• To support the European Commission in this effort, the JRC created a set of

indicators to monitor EU citizens’ interest in topics related to the European Green Deal 
both over time and across Member States and their regions.

• Using web searches, the JRC created two sets of indicators drawing from the six
policy areas indicated by the European Commission. The first set of indicators captures 
online search data related to citizens’ behaviour in the context of the European Green 
Deal, such as their searches related to mobility, energy, waste and nutrition. The second 
set of indicators captures online search data on citizens’ awareness, such as those about 
pollution, clean energy, ecosystems and climate.

• Over the last five years, interest in green mobility has been slowly but steadily
increasing. This is particularly true for individual and public transport. In 2020, the trend 
was heavily affected by the sanitary crisis. Google searches for public transport and 
shared mobility dramatically decreased without recovering to pre-pandemic levels.

• The increase in searches related to vegetarian and vegan food reflects the growing
popularity of these dietary choices. Indeed, European average meat consumption, which 
now stands at about 69 kilograms per capita per year, is expected to fall by a kilogram 
over the next ten years according to the EU agricultural outlook.

• In 2020, confinement measures due to the pandemic caused a huge drop in energy
demand and delayed new renewable energy sources installations. Despite that, Google 
searches on renewable energy sources reached the highest interest in May this year. 
Among the topics in sub-dimensions related to clean energy, solar energy is the most-
searched one.

• Searches for topics related to pollution have been mostly stable over the last
few years. The pandemic brought an unexpected positive outcome by increasing the 
awareness of air pollution and its negative consequences, and early evidence suggests 
that this effect will not be short-lived.

• Searches related to climate change peaked towards the end of 2016. This peak
comes shortly after the entry into force of the Paris agreement. Another peak comes 
during the Global Week of Climate Action and shortly after Greta Thunberg’s speech at 
the United Nations Climate Action Summit on September 23rd 2019.

• The indicators can be used to obtain causal insights, both at the regional and
national level. For example, searches for low-emission vehicles in Italy surged following 
the implementation, by regional authorities, of economic incentives to replace old and 
high-emission cars. Searches for public transport instead dropped during the pandemic, 
not only as a result of containment measures but also because of self-imposed 
cautionary measures.

2        

The European Green Deal

On December 11th 2019, the European Commission announced the European Green Deal, a radical project 
aiming  to  make  the  European  Union,  the  world’s  second-largest  economy,  climate-neutral  by  2050.  By 
that date, the European Union is expected to have no net emissions of greenhouse gases and its economic 
growth should be decoupled from resource use.

The  European  Green  Deal  is  a  policy  initiative  that  will  result  in  a  legislative  firestorm  centered  around 
nine policy areas which are key to achieve the ambitious goals: biodiversity; from farm to fork; sustainable 
agriculture;  clean  energy;  sustainable  industry;  building  and  renovating;  sustainable  mobility;  eliminating 
pollution; and climate action.

In this report, the first of a series of reports targeting the European Commission priorities, the European 
Commission’s Joint Research Centre (hereafter JRC) tries to gauge the interest of the European Union citizens 
around the  policy areas composing the European Green Deal. To overcome the lack of EU-wide data on 
several topics, the JRC uses web searches to proxy the interest of Europeans in eight composite indicators 
which observe the trends over time and across countries of two thematic areas: citizens’ green behaviours 
and citizens’ green awareness. In addition, it will provide evidence at regional level for 23 Member States.1 
Finally,  the  report  shows  how  the  indicators  provided  can  be  used  to  perform  causal  analysis  to  assess 
shifts in the relative volume of web searches following changes in policies related to the Green Deal (i.e., the 
introduction of new benefits for the purchase of low-emission vehicles) or in the aftermath of the covid-19 
pandemic (i.e., searches for public transport).

Each main thematic area is composed of four composite indicators which aggregate several topics made 
available by Google. Topics are aggregation of web searches performed on the Google Search engine that 
can be assigned to a particular concept. Starting from January 2015 to the end of November 2020, the JRC 
collected the weekly relative amount of searches on the queries of interests for all 27 EU Member States 
and for 467 regions across 23 Member States. This report aims at making Google data accessible using ad 
hoc visualisations to uncover trends, to compare interests across countries and regions as well as over time.

While  there  are  limitations  in  exploiting  web  searches  to  proxy  the  interests  of  Europeans  (see  the 
Methodology, p. 29), online search behaviour could provide insights on otherwise hardly measurable topics 
(such as the awareness of the citizens on a given topic) or topics which coverage and frequency are lower 
(as in the case of survey data).

The remainder of the report is structured as follows: first, the indicators (and their components) capturing 
searches related to citizens’ behaviour related to the European Green Deal are presented and discussed. 
Then, it outlines the indicators (and their components) capturing Europeans’ awareness about areas linked 
to the European Green Deal. Finally, it shows how online search data can be used to provide Green Deal-
related causal insights. Details about the methodology are available at the end of the report.

1. Countries not included in the regional analysis due to lacking data availability are: Greece, Malta, Portugal and Slovenia.

        3

4        

MobilityIndividual transportBicycleElectric vehicleHybrid electric vehicleHybrid vehiclePlug-in hybridElectric kick scooterElectric bicyclePublic transportPublic transportBusTrainShared mobilityCar poolCar sharingBike sharingEnergyEnergy consumptionEuropean Union energy label Building insulationEfficient energy useElectric energy consumptionLED lampThermal insulationEnergy productionSolar cell panelMini wind turbineSolar panelSolar water heatingWasteWaste managementGlass recyclingPaper recyclingPlastic recyclingRecyclingRecycling binWaste collectionWaste managementWaste sortingElectronic wasteRecyclable wasteWaste reductionSecond-hand shopBiodegradable plasticBiodegradable wasteCompostCompostingReusable shopping bagZero wasteFood wasteNutritionFood consumptionVeganismVegetarianismWater consumptionWater purificationFood productionFarmers' marketLocal foodOrganic farmingOrganic foodEuropean ecolabelShort food supply chainsDirect sellingSustainable agricultureJRC Conceptual framework on citizens' behaviours related to the Green Deal based on Google search dataBehaviour

Behaviour |        5

MobilityIndividual transportBicycleElectric vehicleHybrid electric vehicleHybrid vehiclePlug-in hybridElectric kick scooterElectric bicyclePublic transportPublic transportBusTrainShared mobilityCar poolCar sharingBike sharingEnergyEnergy consumptionEuropean Union energy label Building insulationEfficient energy useElectric energy consumptionLED lampThermal insulationEnergy productionSolar cell panelMini wind turbineSolar panelSolar water heatingWasteWaste managementGlass recyclingPaper recyclingPlastic recyclingRecyclingRecycling binWaste collectionWaste managementWaste sortingElectronic wasteRecyclable wasteWaste reductionSecond-hand shopBiodegradable plasticBiodegradable wasteCompostCompostingReusable shopping bagZero wasteFood wasteNutritionFood consumptionVeganismVegetarianismWater consumptionWater purificationFood productionFarmers' marketLocal foodOrganic farmingOrganic foodEuropean ecolabelShort food supply chainsDirect sellingSustainable agricultureJRC Conceptual framework on citizens' behaviours related to the Green Deal based on Google search dataMobility

EU-27 average interest in individual and public transport over the last six years (2015-2020).

According to the European Environment Agency, transport is one of the main sectors contributing to climate 
change.2 Europeans’ searches for topics related to green mobility can be a lens to read their interest in the 
topic.  Over  the  last  five  years,  interest  in  green  mobility  has  been  slowly  but  steadily  increasing.  This  is 
particularly true for individual and public transport. In 2020, the trends were heavily affected by the sanitary 
crisis. Google Searches for public transport (e.g., bus and train) and shared mobility (car-pooling, car and bike 
sharing) dramatically decreased without recovering to pre-pandemic levels. Conversely, while searches for 
public transport are generally higher than the ones for individual transport, this trend changed in mid-May, 
with individual transport searches peaking and remaining higher than the ones for public transport.

Individual transport
High interest

Public transport
High interest

Low interest

Low interest

Interest in individual transport and public transport in the 27 EU countries (2015-19 average).

Before the pandemic (between 2015 and 2019), interest in public transport was higher in Mediterranean and Eastern 
Europe.  Countries  with  the  highest  proportion  of  Google  searches  for  train  and  bus  were  Croatia,  Ireland,  Latvia, 
Lithuania and Slovakia. In Central and some Northern countries (Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Luxembourg, 
Netherlands and Slovenia) interest was higher in individual transport, in particular bicycles and electric mobility.

2. https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/transport/intro

6        | Behaviour

HighinterestLowinterest201720152016201820192020CHART KEYShared mobilityPublic transportIndividual transportFirst and second EU pandemic waves+ 100%

+ 50%

0

Jan

0

First EU case 
of covid-19 (France)

Peak of infections in Europe
more than 2 000 000 cases per week (WHO)

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

First EU 
hotbed 
(Italy)

- 50%

Individual
transport

Public
transport

Difference in interest in individual and public transport between 2020 and 2019.

In 2020, interest in green mobility was deeply influenced by movement restrictions imposed to slow the spread of the 
pandemic. After the first European hotbed, both individual and public transport showed a lower interest compared to 
the same weeks in 2019. In March 2020, interest in bicycles and electric vehicles (individual transport) was almost half 
than in 2019, and interest in public transport was almost 70% lower than 2019 at the end of the month. From April 
on, trends completely changed (in particular for individual transport). In May 2020 interest in green individual mobility 
was much higher than in May 2019, driven by topics such as bicycle and electric bicycle while the interest in public 
transport remained lower and did not recover.

Individual transport
High interest

Public transport
High interest

Low interest

Low interest

Interest in individual and public transport in the 27 EU countries (2020 average).

Despite that, the distribution of interest in individual transport remained almost unchanged in the 27 EU countries over 
the last year. In 2020, as for the period between 2015 and 2019, Central European countries had the highest interest 
in individual transport. For public transport, over the last year, average interest increased in Bulgaria and Finland, while 
it decreased in Italy and Luxembourg, but overall changes due to the pandemic were proportional across countries.

Behaviour |        7

Energy

EU-27 average interest in energy production and consumption over the last six years (2015-2020).

The analysis of Europeans’ interest in energy are related to renewable domestic energy production methods 
and energy efficiency interventions (energy consumption). The chart shows that interest in energy has clearly 
been influenced by the ongoing pandemic. Google searches on energy production grew in EU countries between 
2015  and  2019  before  abruptly  dropping  in  March  2020  after  the  first  European  hotbed.  Despite  that,  it 
peaked at the end of May maintaining a higher proportion of interest compared with the same period of the 
past years. Interest in energy consumption had a similar setback in March followed by a quick recovery at 
the end of May and an all-time high at the end of November. This might be linked to the economic measures 
implemented by EU Member States to finance energy efficiency interventions to support economic recovery.

Difference in interest in energy production and consumption between 2020 and 2019.

The  effects  of  the  pandemic  and  related  measures  are  even  more  evident  when  comparing  the  interest  in 
renewable domestic energy production and green energy consumption in 2019 and 2020. Apart from some 
weeks in March and at the beginning of April, the interest in energy consumption has been higher than in 2019. 
This was particularly true during the first months of the year. On average, from mid-January to March, interest 
was 30% higher than in 2019. After a brief setback, it remained higher than the previous year from mid-April on.

8        | Behaviour

HighinterestLowinterest201720152016201820192020CHART KEYEnergy consumptionEnergy productionFirst EU pandemic waveSecond EU pandemic wave+25%-25%+25%-25%00EnergyproductionEnergyconsumptionMarFebJanAprMayJunJulAugSepOctDecNovFirst EU case of covid-19 (France)Peak of infections in Europemore than 2 000 000 cases per week (WHO)First EU hotbed (Italy)Energy consumption
High interest

Low interest

Energy production
High interest

Low interest

Interest in energy consumption and production in the 
27 EU countries (2015-2019 average).

Interest in energy production had a long setback from 
February to the beginning of April before recovering. 
Then,  until  mid-August,  it  was  on  average  20% 
higher than in 2019. During the last months of 2020 
Europeans’ interest has been in line with that of the 
previous year.

Before the pandemic (2015-2019), interest in topics 
related  to  efficient  energy  consumption  was  higher 
in Central Europe,  in particular, in Belgium, Czechia, 
Interestingly, 
France,  Netherlands  and  Slovakia. 
most  of  these  countries  are  also  among  the  best 

CHART KEY
countries with 
similar

different

performance in the two ranks

Interest in topics related
to energy consumption
(2015-2019 average)

Country performances
in the EU Energy
Efficiency Scoreboard 

NL

CZ

BE

SK

LU

FR

IE

DE

PL

DK

MT

HU

EE

AT

SE

CY

RO

ES

IT

LV

HR

PT

EL

LT

BG

SI

FI

IE

FI

FR

NL

DE

SK

RO

LV

DK

SI

BE

ES

SE

AT

PT

LT

BG

LU

CZ

CY

EL

MT

HR

PL

IT

EE

HU

EU Energy Efficiency Scoreboard and interest in 
energy consumption.

performers in the EU Energy Efficiency Scoreboard3, 
the tool to assess the energy efficiency performance 
of  European  Union  countries.  In  the  same  period, 
interest  in  residential  power  generation  (energy 
production) was higher in Belgium, Finland, Greece, 
Netherlands, Portugal and Romania.

3. EU Energy Efficiency Scoreboard: https://www.odyssee-mure.eu/
data-tools/scoring-efficiency-countries.html

Behaviour |        9

Waste

EU-27 average interest in waste management and reduction over the last six years (2015-2020).

Turning waste into a resource is a priority to a green and circular economy. Although waste management 
in Europe is steadily improving, Member States still lose a significant amount of potential raw materials 
such as metals, wood, glass, paper and plastics. In 2018, each EU citizen generated on average 1.8 tonnes 
per inhabitant of waste (excluding major mineral waste). Of this waste, more than 20% is still landfilled or 
burned, while Eurostat estimates that about 600 million tons could be reused or recycled.4
Between 2015 and 2019, web searches for topics related to waste slowly increased. The European outbreak 
of the covid-19 pandemic abruptly stopped this trend. The change is particularly visible in waste reduction, 
which did not start its usual recovery after the winter holidays break, and dropped again during the second 
European covid-19 wave. 

Waste
High interest

Low interest

Interest in waste in the 27 EU countries (2015-19 average).

10        | Behaviour

composting  and 

France,  Ireland  and  Belgium  have 
the  highest  level  of  interest  in 
topics  related  to  waste  in  Europe. 
In  particular,  France  and  Ireland 
have  the  highest  relative  interest 
for 
compost, 
while  Belgium  records  the  highest 
European  interest  for  second-hand 
shops.
In  Ireland  and  Sweden,  two  of  the 
European countries with the highest 
interest  in  topics  related  to  waste, 
people  searched  especially 
for 
topics related to recycling, while in 
France  the  most-searched  topic  in 
the domain is second-hand shop. 

The decrease in the relative interest 
in topics related to waste reduction 
is particularly visible when looking at 
the  comparison  between  2020  and 
2019. Although the year began with 

4. Waste  statistics  are  available  at  https://
ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/waste/overview

HighinterestLowinterest201720152016201820192020CHART KEYWaste managementWaste reductionFirst and second EU pandemic waves+ 30%

+ 15%

same
interest
- 15%

Waste
management

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

+ 60%

+ 30%

same
interest

- 30%

First EU 
hotbed 
(Italy)

Peak of infections in Europe
more than 2 000 000 cases per week (WHO)

Waste
reduction

First EU case 
of covid-19 (France)

Difference in interest waste reduction and waste management between 2020 and 2019.

interest levels higher than 2019, this rapidly changed with the first European covid-19 wave in early March. 
The interest level increased again during summer, almost reaching 2019 values, but decreased again at the 
end of summer, and remained lower than 2019 throughout autumn when the second wave of the pandemic 
hit the EU. Also, the interest in waste reduction has changed over the last year, if compared to 2019. The 
change though is different from the one observed for waste management: the interest seems to have been 
lower at the beginning of the first wave of covid-19 in Europe, while it increased to a level higher than that 
of 2019 in April and May. The interest nevertheless decreased again in summer 2020 and has not shown 
signs of recovery until November.

Waste
High interest

Searches  for  waste-related  topics 
do not show a high degree of within-
country variation. At a national level 
though,  it  is  interesting  to  notice 
the divide (in terms of the relative 
volume  of  searches)  between 
countries  in  Eastern  Europe  and 
other  Member  States.  This  reflects 
the  recycling  rates  of  municipal 
waste  across  European  countries, 
which 
in 
Eastern  Europe,  with  an  exception 
for  Lithuania.5  Trentino-Alto  Adige, 
in north-eastern Italy, is one of the 
regions  with  the  highest  interest 
in  topics  related  to  waste,  and  it 
has  a  particularly  higher  interest 
when compared to its neighbouring 
regions in Italy. Trentino-Alto Adige 
is  also  one  of  the  Italian  regions 
which recycles the most.6

is  on  average 

lower 

Low interest

Interest in waste in the EU regions (2019 average).

5. See Eurostat, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/
databrowser/view/t2020_rt120/default/
table?lang=en
6. https://www.istat.it/it/archivio/234691

Behaviour |        11

Nutrition

EU-27 average interest in food production and food consumption over the last six years (2015-2020).

Nutrition  is  at  the  heart  of  the  European  Green  Deal,  relating  to  two  key  policy  areas:  the  Farm  to  Fork 
Strategy and a sustainable common agricultural policy. It aims to address the challenges of sustainable 
food systems and to recognise the tight relation between healthy people, healthy societies and a healthy 
planet.7  The  European  Commission  aims  at  reducing  the  use  and  risk  of  chemical  and  more  hazardous 
pesticides by 50% by 2030. For the same year, it also aims at reducing sales of antimicrobials for farmed 
animals by 50% while developing the organic farming sector, with the goal of 25 % of total farmland being 
used for organic farming by 2030.

The continuous rise of searches for topics related to nutrition over the last five years suggests that also 
European  citizens  seem  to  consider  thi  important  matter.  The  interest  of  European  citizens  reflects  this 
importance showing a continuous rise over the last five years. In particular, searches related to veganism 
and  vegetarianism  are  the  driving  topics  underneath  the  continuous  growth  and  2019  peak  of  the  food 
consumption sub-dimension. Regarding food production, the general trend of interest is relatively stable 
within each year, with a relevant peak in the time of the first lockdowns in Europe (from March to May). 
In a period of movement restrictions and closures of cafes and restaurants, European citizens interest in 
topics related to organic food and direct selling increased, possibly seeking to improve the quality of the 
food prepared at home. The drastic and temporary reduction of interest at the beginning of 2019 has to 
be attributed to changes in classification operated by Google’s semantic integration algorithms. Differently, 
the strong increase at the end of 2017 is mainly driven by German-speaking countries, where the term bio 
started to be used by large retail stores for their organic products.

7. COM/2020/381 final

12        | Behaviour

CHART KEYFood consumptionFood production201920202018201720162015HighinterestLowinterestFirst EU pandemic waveSecond EU pandemic waveRelative volume of searches related to veganism and vegetarism in the 27 EU countries (2015-19 average).

Veganism and vegetarianism are the most represented topics of the food consumption sub-dimension, with 
searches for recipes often being linked with these terms. The increase in searches related to vegetarian and 
vegan food seem to reflect the growing popularity of these dietary choices. Indeed, European average meat 
consumption, which now stands at about 69 kilograms per capita, is expected to fall by a kilogram over the 
next ten years according to the EU agricultural outlook.8

In a direct comparison, vegan alternatives attract more interest than vegetarian ones across all European 
countries. This may reflect the fact that for the average European some vegetarian recipes are more common 
and already integrated within the local tradition, while vegan alternatives are less known and may require 
an additional search.

Nutrition
High interest

The  regional  relative  volume  of 
searches  reflects  the  estimated 
share  of  vegan  and  vegetarian 
citizens  in  EU  countries.  Austria 
and  Germany,  where  vegan  and 
vegetarian  options  are  becoming 
increasingly  popular,  in  particular 
among  younger  individuals,  show 
the  highest  volume  of  searches. 
High  levels  can  also  be  observed 
in other regions in Northern Europe 
such as the regions of Copenhagen, 
Stockholm 
Amsterdam. 
and 
A  few  countries  show  a  more 
interest 
heterogeneous 
across their regions. In some cases, 
it is a geographical difference (like in 
France, Italy and Slovakia), while in 
other countries it may be connected 
with 
socio-demographic 
characteristics  of  the  region  (e.g., 
Estonia, Finland and Spain).

level  of 

the 

Low interest

Interest in nutrition in the EU regions (2019 average).

8. https://ec.europa.eu/info/files/
report-eu-agricultural-outlook-2018-30_en

Behaviour |        13

ROCZESPTITFRDENLSKHRBEBGATCYLUMTHUSIFILTDKSEPLEEGRIELVCHART KEYveganismvegetarianismPollutionAirPM10ParticulatesGreenhouseGreenhouse effectOzoneOzone LayerAir pollutionAir quality indexSoilHazardous wasteSoil contaminationAcid rainWaterMicroplasticsMarine pollutionPlastic pollutionWater pollutionOil spillClean energySolarPhotovoltaic power stationSolar energySolar thermal energyHydroHydroelectricityHydropowerWindOffshore wind powerWind turbineWind farmBiomassBiomassGeothermalGeothermal energyGenericRenewable energyRenewable resourceEcosystemEnvironmentEnvironmental issuesEnvironmental protectionNature conservationSoil conservationWater resourcesSpeciesBiodiversityEndangered speciesWildlife conservationThreatened speciesClimateClimate changeClimate changeClimate variability and changeClimate change mitigationFootprintWater footprintCarbon dioxideOzone depletionJRC Conceptual framework on citizens' awareness related to the Green Deal based on Google search dataAwareness

Awareness |        15

PollutionAirPM10ParticulatesGreenhouseGreenhouse effectOzoneOzone LayerAir pollutionAir quality indexSoilHazardous wasteSoil contaminationAcid rainWaterMicroplasticsMarine pollutionPlastic pollutionWater pollutionOil spillClean energySolarPhotovoltaic power stationSolar energySolar thermal energyHydroHydroelectricityHydropowerWindOffshore wind powerWind turbineWind farmBiomassBiomassGeothermalGeothermal energyGenericRenewable energyRenewable resourceEcosystemEnvironmentEnvironmental issuesEnvironmental protectionNature conservationSoil conservationWater resourcesSpeciesBiodiversityEndangered speciesWildlife conservationThreatened speciesClimateClimate changeClimate changeClimate variability and changeClimate change mitigationFootprintWater footprintCarbon dioxideOzone depletionJRC Conceptual framework on citizens' awareness related to the Green Deal based on Google search dataPollution

EU-27 average interest in pollution over the last five years (2016-2020).

Eliminating pollution is among the policy areas of the European Green Deal. To protect Europe’s citizens 
and preserve Europeans’ ecosystems, the Commission aims at achieving zero-pollution of air, water and 
soil by 2050. This goal combines several other policy areas of the European Green Deal, such as reducing 
pollution from excess nutrients thanks to the Farm to Fork strategy, curbing pollution from large industrial 
installations and preventing industrial accidents while developing more sustainable alternatives.
Yet, EU citizens’ interest in topics related to air (the most searched among pollution-related topics), water, 
and soil pollution has been mostly stable over the last few years. A higher awareness of themes related 
to  air,  water  and  soil  pollution  might  help  the  Commission  reach  its  ambitious  goals.  In  this  sense,  the 
SARS-CoV-2  might  have  brought  some  important  and  unexpected  positive  developments.  Indeed,  during 
the first peak of the pandemic, interest around pollution soared, increasing by more than 100% from the 
pre-pandemic levels.

First EU case 
of covid-19 (France)

First EU 
hotbed 
(Italy)

+ 120%

+ 80%

+ 40%

same
interest

Peak of infections in Europe
more than 2 000 000 cases per week (WHO)

Air pollution

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Difference of interest in topics related to air pollution between 2020 and 2019.

The main driver of this dynamic was the increase in the relative volume of searches for topics related to air 
pollution. As the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic unfolded, interest in air pollution increased for, mainly, two reasons. 
On  one  hand,  the  early  scientific  evidence  suggested  that  people  living  in  areas  with  high  levels  of  air 
pollution could have been more likely to show symptoms and to suffer more from the disease. On the other 
hand, news began reporting on how lockdown measures resulted in reduced air pollution due to the lower 
number of cars circulating on European streets. Importantly, even after the first wave of the SARS-CoV-2 
pandemic ended, the interest for topics related to air pollution remained about 20% higher than the 2019 
average, suggesting that the impact of the covid-19 pandemic on the citizens’ awareness of air pollution 
might not be short-lived.

16        | Awareness

soil = 9.5%water = 18.3%air = 72.2%HighinterestLowinterest20172016201820192020Proportion of interestin Pollution sub-dimensionsFirst EU pandemic waveSecond EU pandemic waveAir pollution
High interest

Water pollution
High interest

Low interest

Low interest

Interest in air and water pollution in the EU regions (2020 average).

It is also interesting to notice how the pandemic did not have the same impact on pollution-related searches 
in all EU countries and regions. For example, in 2020, the relative interest for air pollution in German regions 
has been low as compared to other regions in Europe, while the interest for water pollution has been higher. 
The opposite happens in the regions of France, Sweden and the Baltic states, where the relative level of 
searches  for  air  pollution  is  high  while  water  pollution  is  less  searched  for.  Denmark  and  Portugal  have 
regions ranking among the first in both air and water pollution web searches. Finally, it is interesting to 
observe how in the regions of Belgium and the Netherlands, despite the high population density, air pollution 
is not highly searched for, while the opposite is true for water pollution.

CHART KEY

Pollution

air

water

soil

Proportion of Google searches in pollution’s sub-dimensions per country
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%

LT

FR EE AT BG SE

IT

CZ

PL CY

LV BE LU ES NL DK RO SK

SI DE MT

FI

EL HR PT HU IE

Interest in pollution (air, water and soil) in the 27 EU countries (2016-2020 average).

Finally,  Lithuania,  France  and  Austria  show  the  highest  proportion  of  searches  for  air  pollution,  which 
captures about 80% of total searches for pollution. The opposite is true for Hungary, where searches for 
soil  pollution  capture  almost  30%  of  total  searches  for  pollution.  Also  in  other  countries  where  the  sea 
represents an important resource, such as Ireland, Portugal, Greece and Malta, searches for water pollution 
are more frequent.

Awareness |        17

Clean energy

EU-27 average interest in clean energy over the last five years (2015-2020).

In  2020,  confinement  measures  due  to  the  pandemic  caused  a  huge  drop  in  energy  demand.  Further, 
lockdowns  temporarily  delayed  the  construction  of  new  renewable  energy  sources  (RES)  installations.9 
Despite that, Google searches on RES reached the highest interest ever in May this year. Among the sub-
dimensions related to clean energy, solar energy (gathering the following topics: photovoltaic power station, 
solar energy, solar thermal energy) seems to be the most-searched subject.

Difference in interest between 2019 and 2020 in solar, hydro and wind.

The increase in interest in solar energy is further confirmed during 2020, being almost continuously higher 
than in 2019. From the end of January to the beginning of April, Google searches for topics related to solar 
energy were over 60% higher than in 2019, and in February almost 80% higher than in 2019.
The other RES didn’t follow the same trend, maintaining a fluctuating interest, often lower than 2019, during 
all 2020.

9. IEA (2020), Renewables 2020. Analysis and forecast to 2025: https://www.iea.org/reports/renewables-200

18        | Awareness

solar = 61.1%wind = 20.7%other = 12.8%hydro = 5.8%Proportion of interestin Clean energysub-dimensionsHighinterestLowinterest20172016201820192020First EU pandemic waveSecond EU pandemic wave00+20%-20%0+20%-20%+40%+80%solarhydrowindMarFebJanAprMayJunJulAugSepOctDecNovFirst EU case of covid-19 (France)First EU hotbed (Italy)Peak of infections in Europe(more than 2 000 000 cases per week*)High interest

Share of energy from 
renewable energy sources

40%

20%

SE

FI

LV

DK

AT

EE

PT

HR

LT

RO

SI

BG

EL

ES

IT

DE

FR

SK

CZ

CY

HU

PL

IE

BE

NL

MT

LU

Low interest

Map: Interests in clean energy in the 27 EU countries (2015-2019 average). Bar chart: Overall share of energy from 
renewable sources in 2019 (Eurostat). Bars colours are referring to the interest in the topic (same as the map).

Interest in renewable energy sources (solar, wind, hydro, other) in the 27 EU countries.

Considering the pre-pandemic period (2015-2019), interest in clean energy was particularly high in Cyprus, 
France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain and Portugal, followed by the other Central-European countries, Ireland 
and Romania. In most EU countries more than 50% of Google searches for RES are related to solar energy. 
In the other countries, interest in wind energy is the highest among the four sources analysed, exception for 
Hungary, Lithuania and Slovenia, where the most searched energy sources are biomass and geothermal. 

Awareness |        19

RO10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%Proportion of Google searches in renewable energy sources per countryCZESPTITFRDENLSKHRBEBGATCYLUMTHUSIFILTDKSEPLEEGRIELVCHART KEYsolarwindhydroother (geothermal & biomass)Ecosystem

EU-27 average interest in environment and species over the last six years (2015-2020).

Among the policy areas of the European Green Deal, protecting ecosystems and biodiversity plays a crucial 
role. A significant proportion of the 25-percent-budget to climate action will be invested in biodiversity and 
preserving European ecosystems. The EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 started in May 2020. On the day of 
its launch, President Von Der Leyen commented “[m]aking nature healthy again is key to our physical and 
mental well being and is an ally in the fight against climate change and disease outbreaks”.
Europeans’ interest in topics related to ecosystems follows stable trends with seasonal variation. The same 
structure was respected in 2020, albeit an increase of the interest can be observed during the first European 
lockdowns for both searches related to species and the environment.

Difference in interest in species and environment between 2020 and 2019.

A direct focus on the percentage differences of interest between 2020 and 2019 draws a similar pattern 
for the two sub-dimensions of ecosystem, in particular for the first part of the year. Indeed, interest for 
both species and environment is, on average, higher in 2020 with peaks in April. After summer, searches for 
species-related topics remain similar to those of 2019, while searches related to the environment gather 
less interest with respect to the same months of 2019.

20        | Awareness

CHART KEYHighinterestLowinterest201720152016201820192020EnvironmentSpeciesFirst EU pandemic waveSecond EU pandemic wavesameinterest- 20%+ 20%+ 40%+ 60%+ 20%+ 40%sameinterest- 20%MarFebJanAprMayJunJulAugSepOctDecNovFirst EU hotbed (Italy)First EU case of covid-19 (France)Peak of infections in Europemore than 2 000 000 cases per week (WHO)SpeciesEnvironmentSpecies
High interest

Environment
High interest

Low interest

Low interest

Interest in species and environment in the EU regions (2019-20 average).

The geographical distribution of interest for species or the environment is very diverse. Searches related 
to species contain topics such as biodiversity and wildlife conservation, and capture more interest in Spain 
and Portugal  and the Nordic countries Denmark, Finland and Sweden. Conversely, all regions of Latvia and 
Lithuania share the same low level of interest. Searches for environment contain instead topics such as 
environmental protection and nature conservation, capturing higher interest in Eastern Europe (as in Croatia, 
Hungary, Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia) and the north-east of Germany. 

Environment
High interest

Low interest

SI
HR
BG
SK
CY
ES
EL
LU
RO
HU
PT
PL
IT
EE
DE
AT
NL
CZ
FR
FI
IE
LT
BE
MT
SE
LV
DK

Interest in environment in the 27 EU countries (2020 
average).

Terrestrial Natura 2000 area in 2019 (% of total 
national area)

Finally, it is interesting to notice how the national differences in searches related to the environment are 
linked with the share of total land area designated under Natura 2000, a network with the goal to maintain or 
restore a favourable conservation status for habitat types and species of EU interest. Indeed, several Eastern 
European countries where searches for topics such as environmental protection and nature conservation 
are at their highest, are also the countries in which a larger share of the land area is designated under the 
Natura 2000 network of protected areas.

Awareness |        21

Climate

EU-27 average interest in climate change and footprint over the last six years (2015-2020).

In  recent  years  the  attention  towards  climate  change  and  the  impact  our  activities  have  on  the  planet 
has  been  rising.  The  Paris  Agreement,  adopted  at  the  end  of  2015,  sets  a  goal  to  limit  the  increase  of 
temperature  to  below  2.0  degrees  Celsius  compared  to  the  pre-industrial  level.  This  comes  as  impacts 
of climate change on the economy and society - on top of ecosystems and biodiversity themselves - is 
becoming increasingly evident. The World Bank estimated that more than 100 Million people could fall into 
extreme poverty by 2030 if no action is taken.10

Climate
High interest

Low interest

Interest in climate in the EU regions (2019 average).

22        | Awareness

Looking at topics related to climate 
change,  it  is  possible  to  notice  a 
peak towards the end of 2016. This 
peak comes shortly after the entry 
into  force  of  the  Paris  agreement 
on  November  4th.  Related  search 
keywords 
European 
across 
the  same  period 
countries 
suggest  a  relation  between  this 
peak and both the Paris agreement 
and the newly elected President of 
the United States. The second peak 
comes  during  the  Global  Week  of 

in 

10. Hallegatte, Stephane; Bangalore, Mook;
Bonzanigo, Laura; Fay, Marianne; Kane,
Tamaro; Narloch, Ulf; Rozenberg, Julie;
Treguer, David; Vogt-Schilb, Adrien. 2016.
Shock Waves : Managing the Impacts of
Climate Change on Poverty. Climate Change
and Development;. Washington, DC: World
Bank. © World Bank. https://openknowledge.
worldbank.org/handle/10986/22787 License:
CC BY 3.0 IGO.

CHART KEYClimate changeFootprintHighinterestLowinterest201720152016201820192020First EU pandemic waveSecond EU pandemic waveHigh interest

Low interest

Source: https://fridaysforfuture.org/action-map/map

Friday for Future Events per 100 000 inhabitants up to 2020. 

Climate  Action  and  shortly  after  Greta  Thunberg’s  speech  at  the  United  Nations  Climate  Action  Summit 
on  September  23rd  2019.  Footprint  seems  to  have  a  more  regular  trend,  exception  made  for  a  relevant 
increase at the end of 2018. The relative interest for climate change and footprint both decreased at the 
onset of the covid-19 pandemic with a drop during the summer months, which has been more significant 
than in the previous two years. A higher volume of searches for topics related to climate can be identified 
in Denmark, Ireland and Germany. The interest in climate change seems to be concentrated in Northern-
European countries over the past five years.

At the regional level, it is possible to notice that during 2020 the interest for topics related to climate has 
concentrated  in  regions  in  Lithuania,  Denmark,  Germany  and  Austria,  where  the  interest  level  has  been 
among the highest in Europe, followed by regions in Finland and Sweden. The interest seems to concentrate 
in Central- and Northern-European regions, with the exception of Portuguese regions where the interest is 
rather high, some Croatian, Estonian and Cypriot regions, followed by isolated regions in Spain and Italy.
Finally, it is interesting to observe how some of the regions showing a higher interest for topics related to 
climate, are also regions in which the number of events organised (population-weighted) in the context of 
the Friday For Future movement is higher.

Awareness |        23

The effects of policies
on people’s interests

The effects of policies on people’s interests |        25

Causal insights using Green 
Deal-related web searches

The indicators presented in this report can help to understand how EU citizens’ web behaviour on subjects 
linked  to  the  European  Green  Deal  evolved  over  time  and  across  countries  and  regions.  In  addition, 
the  indicators  could  be  exploited  to  provide  insights  on  how  EU  citizens’  interests  change  following  the 
implementation of green policies or in the aftermath of events affecting their daily lives. Using a difference-
in-differences methodology, this section provides two examples on how the indices could be applied both at 
regional and national level to obtain causal insights.

Interest in hybrid vehicle in Italian regions. Note: darker lines represents the region benefiting from an incentive, 
lighter those who do not. Valle d’Aosta not included due to sampling issues.

Promoting low-emission vehicles: the case of Italian regions

Transport  accounts  for  about  a  quarter  of  the  Union’s  greenhouse  gas  emissions  and  these  continue  to 
grow. The European Green Deal seeks a 90% reduction in these emissions by 2050. In particular, according 
to the European Commission11, cars are responsible for about 12% of total EU emissions of carbon dioxide 
(CO2), the main greenhouse gas. Therefore, starting in 2009, the European Commission, with the Regulation 
443/2009, began setting mandatory emission reduction targets for new cars. From 2021 (phased in from 
2020)  the  EU  fleet-wide  average  emission  target  for  newly  produced  cars  will  be  95  grams  of  CO2  per 
kilometre.

Recently, EU Member States began to issue economic incentives, in the form of tax rebates and/or subsidies 
to private citizens and/or companies to purchase low-emission cars. Starting in 2017, six Italian regional 
authorities (Friuli Venezia-Giulia, Lombardia, Piemonte, Trentino Alto-Adige, Valle d’Aosta and Veneto) began 
introducing, at different points in time, economic incentives directed to private citizens to encourage those 

11. https://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/transport/vehicles/cars_en

26        | The effects of policies on people’s interests

HighinterestLowinterest2017201820192020CHART KEYRegions benefitting from an incentiveRegions without incentivesresiding in the regions to replace old and high CO2  emission cars with low CO2 emission cars. In most cases, 
the lower the car nitrogen oxides (NOx) and CO2 emission was, the highest the economic incentives. As an 
example, the Lombardia regional authority implemented an economic incentive scheme ranging from 2 000 
to 8 000€ depending on the combined NOx-CO2 emission per kilometre. Those cars emitting 0 milligram of 
NOx and CO2 per kilometre (electric vehicles) could qualify for a 8 000€ subsidy; cars with CO2 emissions 
per kilometre ranging from 95 to 130 could qualify for a subsidy from 2 000 to 4 000€ depending on the 
NOx emission levels.

Economic incentives are reflected in the trend in interest for the topic ‘hybrid vehicle’ (which captures the 
majority of queries performed on the Google Search engine related to low-emission cars). Those regions 
where economic incentives have been introduced, seem to have, on average, a higher level of interest in low-
emission cars as they display a higher relative number of web searches related to such cars. However, from 
the graphs, it is difficult to say whether the policies in those regions successfully raised citizens’ interest in  
(and thus, to some degree, purchases of) low-emission cars or whether this is due to other factors.

To  test  the  causal  effect  of  implementing  the  policies  on  the  interests  of  the  citizens  residing  in  those 
regions, the JRC adopts a difference-in-differences methodology. Intuitively, this approach compares regions 
exposed to the policy with non-exposed regions (difference), before and after the introduction of the policy 
(in  differences).  Under  the  assumption  that  differences  between  exposed  and  non-exposed  regions  are 
constant over time in the interval under analysis, then the trends in web searches for queries related to 
hybrid vehicle(s) in non-exposed regions provide a good counterfactual scenario in the absence of the policy.

High
interest

Low
interest

-6

-5

-4

-3

-2

-1

0
Months before and after the incentive

1

2

3

4

5

6

The effect of economic incentives on searches for hybrid vehicles in Italy. Vertical bars represent 95% confidence 
intervals.

The  analysis  shows  how,  shortly  before  the  economic  incentive  is  officially  implemented  by  the  regional 
authority, searches for queries related to the topic hybrid vehicle increase by about 50% from their earlier 
trends. The search volume is sustained in the month in which the economic incentive is officially implemented 
and in the one after, before returning close to pre-policy levels in the following months.

Overall, this seems to suggest that economic incentives for low-emission cars have successfully raised the 
relative  number  of  web  searches  for  such  vehicles.  This  also  translated,  to  some  extent,  into  purchases 
of such cars, as the funds established to support such incentives quickly ran out. Given the importance of 
low-emission cars and more sustainable mobility in reaching the goals set by the European Green Deal, 
economic incentives to purchase cars with low- or zero-impact on the environment, if well targeted, might 
play an important role.

The effects of policies on people’s interests |        27

Public transport in the wake of the first lockdowns

Public transport, particularly in urban and densely populated areas, is complementary to the replacement of 
high-emission cars with low-emission ones in achieving the European Green Deal goal of a 90% reduction in 
greenhouse gas emissions in transport by 2050. Low-emission public transport, such as electric buses and 
trains, could serve the double goal of reducing urban congestion and CO2/NOx pollution, thereby making EU 
cities healthier and easier to live in.
To achieve this goal, the European Commission, through the European Structural and Investment funds as well 
as the CIVITAS (CIty, VITAlity and Sustainability) initiative, provide funding and guidance to help the transition 
towards greener and more efficient public transport. The increase in the relative interests of European citizens 
in themes related to public transport over the years, has unfortunately been brought to a halt by lockdowns 
and measures of social distancing imposed by the covid-19 pandemic. Searches related to public transport 
usually contain searches for tickets, timetables, itineraries and weekly/monthly/yearly passes.

Interest in public transport over the last six years.

To  understand  what  has  been  the  impact  of  lockdown  measures  on  searches  for  public  transport,  the 
JRC  estimates  the  effect  of  lockdowns  on  web  searches  using  a  differences-in-differences  methodology. 
Importantly, results suggest that searches for queries related to public transport decreased a few weeks 
before lockdowns and movement restriction measures were officially implemented by (some) EU countries 
during the first wave of the covid-19 pandemic.

High
interest

Low
interest

-9

-8

-7

-6

-5

-4

-3

-1

-2

0
Weeks before and after lockdowns

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

The effect of lockdowns and restrictive measures on searches related to public transport

This suggests that the effect in the decrease in interests for public transport (and, therefore, to some degree 
in their use of such transport) is not solely driven by official measures to fight the pandemic, but also by 
self-imposed measures that EU citizens took to protect their health and reduce the risk of contagion. This, 
in turn, provides insights suggesting that private transport (as shown before) will likely be preferred, when 
possible, to public transport, until the latter will not be felt as safe by European citizens.

28        | The effects of policies on people’s interests

HighinterestLowinterest201720152016201820192020First and second EU pandemic wavesMethodology

The  analysis  is  performed  using  search  data  available  through  the  Google  Health  Application 
Programming  Interface  (API),  which  provides  access  to  information  on  a  representative  sample 
of  searches  performed  on  the  Google  Search  engine.  The  Google  Health  API  returns  information 
normalised to the time and location of a query. By time range (weekly in this report) and geography 
(country or regional level) each data point is divided by the total searches to obtain relative popularity. 
This provides advantages over the usage of Google Trends data which, after being rescaled are also 
normalised on a 0 to 100 scale. However, results shown in this report do not represent the absolute 
volume of searches, but rather their volume relative to the total amount of searches. Changes over 
time for a particular search term could therefore be driven by changes in the absolute search volume, 
changes in the volume of other searches or a combination of the two.

The Google Health API also returns top related searches and topics. Top searches are terms that are 
most frequently searched with the term users enter in the same search session within the chosen 
category and geography. Topics, which have started being available in late 2013 in the US and the 
following years in EU countries, are instead aggregations of different related queries that could be 
assigned to a particular concept. Aggregation is done by Google using semantic integration algorithms 
in the context of the Google knowledge graph.12

In this report, the JRC uses topics rather than search terms as the former provides a few advantages. 
First, it is possible to easily use topics to perform a cross-country analysis, whereas the same does not 
apply with keywords even if they are correctly translated. Evidence shows that search terms related 
to the same topic vary across countries due to cultural differences. Further, searches linked to topics 
might vary across time. Finally, all queries broadly related to a topic are linked to the given topics 
independently from the spelling and wording of the query.

To select the topics included to create the indicators contained in this report, the JRC adopts both 
a  data-driven  and  data-informed  approach.  First,  JRC  researchers  selected  a  few  topics  related  to 
the  policy  areas  of  the  European  Green  Deal,  i.e.,  Air  pollution,  Renewable  energy,  Electric  vehicle, 
Recycling, Organic food. These topics are then used as a seed to retrieve all topics linked to them. 
Then the retrieved topics are used as a seed themselves to retrieve all related topics. This procedure 
resulted in a list of more than 2 000 topics. Using a data-informed approach, the JRC then selected 
only those topics relevant in the context of the European Green Deal while organising them according 
to the theoretical framework that is presented in this report.

While this approach has clear advantages, some caveats apply. First, while searches are informative 
for the population in the working age and about 90% of EU households have internet access, younger 
individuals are more likely to use the internet than the elderly.13 Further, access to the internet is not 
random with respect to socio-economic status.

Maps scales are based on quartiles of the distribution of the variable of interest. EU-27 averages are 
population-weighted.

12. https://blog.google/products/search/introducing-knowledge-graph-things-not/
13. See Eurostat, Digital Economy and Society Data, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/digital-economy-and-society/data/database

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The European Commission’s 
science and knowledge service 
Joint Research Centre

JRC Mission
As the science and knowledge service 
of the European Commission, the Joint 
Research Centre’s mission is to support 
EU policies with independent evidence 
throughout the whole policy cycle.

EU Science Hub
ec.europa.eu/jrc

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doi:10.2760/18216 
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