- When asked about the importance of the EU upholding its own environmental laws within EU member states, 75% of Europeans across 10 EU markets rated this as either “very” or “fairly” important.
- Around three-quarters of adults surveyed by Ipsos in 10 EU countries say large companies (250 or more employees) should be held accountable for human rights and environmental harms in their value chains.
- Over half (58%) support the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) that is under threat ahead of a key European Parliament vote, with just 9% opposing.
- Almost two thirds (63%) also believe large companies should be legally obliged to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
New polling by Ipsos reveals that a large majority of people (75%) across 10 European countries think it is important that the European Union (EU) uphold its own environmental laws.
The new survey of 10,861 people – commissioned jointly by Amnesty International and Global Witness – also found that around three-quarters of respondents said large companies should be held accountable for human rights (75%) and environmental harm (77%) across their global value chains. The findings come at a time when the EU is considering drastically weakening environmental and human rights protections, with the European Parliament expected to vote on a range of laws that are part of the bloc’s rollback on the ‘Green Deal’ on 13 October.
Europeans are sending Brussels a powerful message of support for urgent climate action and the protection of human rights.
Global Witness EU Senior Campaigner Beate Beller
Parliamentarians will decide whether to severely limit the scope and vital provisions of the landmark Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), passed just last year. The poll shows that 58% of people surveyed support the CSDDD, compared to just 9% opposing these protections.
Global Witness EU Senior Campaigner Beate Beller said:
“Europeans are sending Brussels a powerful message of support for urgent climate action and the protection of human rights. The European Union must honour its commitments and resist lobbyists trying to force a race to the bottom. Companies have a critical responsibility to drastically reduce their emissions, and they must be obliged to take action to address the climate crisis now.”
Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, said:
“People in Europe want protections for human rights and the climate – not weaker rules. Rolling back these safeguards would only serve the narrow interests of billionaires and big business. It’s not too late to change course. The European Parliament must now show courage, resist corporate bullies, and defend these laws in the name of the people it represents and the planet we all rely on.”
Polling was undertaken by Ipsos in 10 European countries: Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Spain and Sweden.
The European Parliament must now show leadership by rolling back these damaging proposals and put people and the planet over corporate interests
Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General
Importantly, the findings could indicate that the majority of people understand that taking climate action needn’t come at an economic cost to households. 87% of people surveyed said that the cost of living had increased in their country in the last 12 months. However, just 13% of those who said this then went on to select “European Union policies to tackle climate change” as one of their answers when shown a list of possible reasons and asked to choose which were most responsible for the increase.
More than half (53%) 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. Just 10% said it was less important.
EU must put people and planet before corporate profits
In 2024, the EU passed the landmark CSDDD – legally requiring large companies operating in the EU to identify, prevent, and mitigate any negative impact of their activities on human rights and the environment across the world.
Hailed as a landmark law, these regulations were designed to fulfill the EU’s ambition of becoming the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. However, not long after the law was finally agreed, on 26 February 2025 the European Commission presented the so-called ‘Omnibus proposal’ – a series of rules intent on rolling back recently enacted environmental and human risks protections in the EU. In response, over 360 civil society organizations across some 50 countries signed a joint statement raising alarm and opposing these plans.
The proposals cover key corporate sustainability laws such as the CSDDD. The Omnibus risks weakening several central CSDDD provisions including: removing a harmonised civil liability regime that was intended to provide a clear avenue for justice for the victims of abuses i.e. exploited workers and people displaced by companies; reducing the scope of due diligence obligations only to immediate business partners instead of throughout the value chain; and undermining climate transitions obligations.
A drastic trend towards reducing the scope of companies that would be covered within the scope of CSDDD has also emerged, as seen in the Council’s proposal from June this year.
“The European Parliament must now show leadership by rolling back these damaging proposals and put people and the planet over corporate interests,” Beller added.
“There is no time to lose. We all want and deserve to live, work in and enjoy a clean and healthy environment,” added Agnès Callamard.
Background
On 3 April 2025, the European Parliament adopted the ‘Stop-the-Clock’ proposal, postponing the application of the CSDDD by one year to July 2027.
On 13 October, the European Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee is expected to vote on its position on the Omnibus proposal, paving the way for the Parliament’s position, as well as negotiations between Parliament and the Council.
Overall technical note:
On behalf of Amnesty International and Global Witness, Ipsos interviewed representative quota samples of adults in 10 markets using its online i:omnibus and ad hoc services: 1,086 aged 16-75 in the Denmark, 1,098 aged 16-75 in France, 1,092 aged 16-75 in Germany, 1,098 aged 16-75 in Italy, 1,063 aged 18-65 in Lithuania, 1,085 aged 16-75 in the Netherlands, 1,092 aged 16-75 in Poland, 1,084 aged 16-75 in Romania, 1,078 aged 16-75 in Spain, and 1,085 aged 16-75 in Sweden.
Fieldwork took place between the 5th and 17th of September 2025. The samples obtained are representative of the national populations with quotas on age, gender, region and working status. The data has been weighted to the known offline population proportions in each market for age, working status, government office region and education, to reflect the adult populations of each market in which the research was conducted. In addition, a set of results combining the 10 European nations was provided which were then weighted to reflect the proportional size to one another.