From the sun-scorched streets of Essex to wildfire-prone hillsides in Spain and Italy, the effects of global heating are becoming harder to ignore. Yet political support for climate policy across the continent appears to be cooling.
In the UK, many citizens like Julie, a retired local government worker in Stanford-le-Hope, acknowledge the increasing heat. Her brother recently returned from Spain where temperatures hit 42°C. Still, while she says she's concerned for future generations, she expresses little faith in the government and doubts anything can now be done. "It's all too little, too late," she remarks.
That sense of resignation is becoming more widespread. Polling from the nonprofit More in Common reveals that although most Britons found June's heatwave overwhelming and link it to the climate crisis, overall concern about climate change has declined—from 68% last year to 60% now. Support for reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 has dropped even more sharply, from 62% to just 46%.
"People are simply overwhelmed," says Ed Hodgson, a senior researcher at More in Common. "Climate still matters to them, but cost of living, healthcare, and immigration dominate their day-to-day concerns."
In this shifting landscape, far-right and populist parties across Europe are seizing the moment. In the UK, Reform UK—whose platform includes scrapping net-zero targets and expanding oil and gas drilling—has gained traction, particularly in climate-vulnerable constituencies. An analysis by NGOs Global Witness and Round Our Way projects the party could win in eight of the UK's 10 most flood-prone areas in the next election.
Across mainland Europe, similar rhetoric is taking hold. In Spain, where June temperatures smashed records with a 46°C high, the far-right Vox party mocked efforts to regulate climate misinformation. In Italy, Lega MPs have downplayed climate change's causes, while Germany's AfD has leaned into historical comparisons to dismiss the crisis.
France saw one of the most politically charged responses to the heat. Marine Le Pen's National Rally called for a nationwide air conditioning programme—just days after attempting to block new wind and solar developments in parliament. Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau even used the heatwave as a reason to halt renewable energy expansion in favour of nuclear—a move branded "petty politics" by green officials.
As hospitals report a rise in heat-related illnesses and firefighters battle blazes from Greece to the Algarve, green groups warn of a widening gap between climate reality and political response.
Some far-right factions continue to question the science. Others have shifted tactics—accepting climate change is real, but fiercely opposing the solutions. Either way, the result is the same: policy paralysis in the face of escalating planetary risk.
"We're not just fighting climate breakdown anymore," said one campaigner. "We're in a war of the truth—against denial, against delay, and against a dangerous drift toward apathy."