Dutch feel less personally affected by climate change

Awareness and concern remain high, but personal engagement is declining

• Only 28% of Dutch people feel personally affected by climate change, compared with a European average of 49%.
• Yet 71% say they are very or fairly anxious about climate change – slightly above the European average of 66%.
• Climate change ranks third among the biggest concerns (25%), after international tensions (40%) and purchasing power (32%).

Although a large majority of Dutch people (71%) report being anxious about climate change, only 28% feel personally impacted by its effects. This places the Netherlands well below the European average of 49% and lowest among the ten countries surveyed.

Dutch concerns about climate change focus mainly on specific consequences. Among those who are worried, 67% cite extreme weather as their main concern – significantly higher than the European average of 60%. Nearly half (44%) worry about the loss of biodiversity, while 40% are concerned about the impact of climate change on future generations.

Grégoire Lusson, Head of NEST (Network of Experts in Sustainability Transitions) at BNP Paribas: “The Dutch feel less often personally affected by the consequences of climate change. Southern European countries such as  Italy and Spain top the list of nations where people feel most personally impacted, which is not surprising given the rise in heatwaves, wildfires and drought. Compared with 2023, the share of Dutch people who feel at least somewhat affected has fallen by twelve percentage points.”

Habituation or a sense of climate fatigue may play a role. In addition, there were no major flooding incidents in the past year, and we know that direct experience with the effects of climate change strongly influences how personally involved people feel. In a country like the Netherlands, where sea-level rise and flood risks in the river delta can have sudden and serious consequences, this decline in personal engagement deserves attention.”

The BNP Paribas Just Transition Observatory was conducted in April 2025 by research agency Ipsos. In the Netherlands, 1,000 people aged 16 and over were surveyed, representative of the national population. You can access the full report here.