The second SoGreen webinar took place on March 18^th 2026. The session examined how the SoGreen module (Savaş et al., 2025) is being implemented across multiple research infrastructures. Following the success of the first webinar, which introduced the project’s purpose and the broader context of the green transition, this second session focused on the process of designing and adapting a cross‑national tool for studying the social aspects of the green transition.

The session was chaired by Dr. Klea Ramaj and was designed to present findings as well as to actively engage with attendees.  The webinar provided space for discussion, clarification, and reflection on the future uses of SoGreen data. The interaction with the audience became a defining feature of the event.

Setting the Scene: A Multi‑Research Infrastructure Collaboration

Professor Gary Pollock, Co‑Director of the Growing Up in Digital Europe (GUIDE) research infrastructure, opened the webinar with an overview of the SoGreen project. He underscored that what made the SoGreen project unique is the fact that for the first time, four major European survey infrastructures are integrating a shared module on the social aspects of the green transition: European Social Survey (ESS), Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), Generations and Gender Programme (GGP), Growing Up in Digital Europe (GUIDE).

Each of the four research infrastructures covers different age groups, themes, and periods of life. Together, they form what Professor Pollock described as a “life observatory” for people throughout Europe. The SoGreen module is central to this vision by providing a common set of questions that track how people perceive, experience, and are affected by green transition policies. The module captures the voices of children, adults in mid‑life, and older populations, offering an unprecedented opportunity to analyse climate‑related policies across the whole life course. The module will provide harmonised, high‑quality data that can be compared across generations and countries.

Developing the SoGreen Module: A Rigorous, Collaborative Process

Dr. Esma Betul Savas (GGP) and Dr. Vytenis Juozas Deimantas (SHARE) delivered the central presentations of the webinar. Esma began with a concise explanation of the green transition, noting the ambitious targets of the European Green Deal and the need to understand its social impacts. She highlighted that new policies can create uneven outcomes, such as energy poverty, transport poverty, or job insecurity.

During the development of the module, the team navigated several challenges. They needed to ensure cross‑infrastructure adaptability by designing a single core module suitable for four very different surveys. The wide age range of respondents – from teenagers to adults over 80 – required questions that were meaningful and appropriate for everyone. Respondent burden was another constraint, as the surveys were already long and offered limited space for additional items. The module also had to be relevant across 17 countries with diverse policy landscapes, while maintaining a specific focus on the social impacts of climate change rather than general attitudes.

The development process began with compiling an extensive inventory of existing climate‑related items drawn from all the four research infrastructures: ESS, SHARE, GGP, and GUIDE. The team then selected and adapted items to ensure relevance, cross‑national comparability, and age appropriateness. In parallel, they developed new questions in collaboration with environmental psychologists and research experts. An expert survey carried out through SoGreen’s Knowledge Mobilisation Lab provided further guidance, and piloting – particularly within SHARE – highlighted issues such as the over-use of “other” responses. Ongoing consultation with national teams helped refine wording and assess translation feasibility.

The final output was a 30‑item module organised into three thematic areas. The first focuses on climate change beliefs and behaviours, including worry about climate change, perceived personal responsibility, expectations around lifestyle changes, and attitudes toward policy fairness. The second thematic area addresses the local environmental context, covering aspects such as air pollution, access to green spaces, public transport infrastructure, and experiences of extreme weather. The third area explores the social impacts of the green transition, including risks of energy and transport poverty, as well as concerns about job loss or job transformation.

Esma guided participants through sample questions from the module, illustrating how they can be used to examine vulnerability, policy acceptance, and behavioural patterns across different populations.

A More Interactive Webinar: Engaging with the Audience

A particularly valuable aspect of the second webinar was its strong emphasis on two‑way engagement. The organisers created an interactive space where participants could contribute, question, and reflect throughout the session.

The webinar began with Esma inviting attendees to introduce themselves in the chat, sharing their roles and their familiarity with the green transition. Within minutes, it became clear that most participants were researchers, though with varying levels of expertise. This early interaction allowed the presenters to adjust their explanations accordingly and helped participants recognise themselves as part of a shared learning community.

Real‑time interaction continued throughout the presentations. Questions appeared both in the chat and in the Q&A panel, and the presenters paused regularly to address them, establishing a conversational rhythm. Questions about labour‑market impacts prompted explanations of why some items were deliberately generalised to ensure relevance for older SHARE respondents. Enquiries about hidden energy poverty led to discussions about heating versus cooling needs, household infrastructure constraints, and the limitations imposed by questionnaire space. A question about within‑household differences sparked reflections on how survey infrastructures typically sample individuals rather than family units, though future life‑course modules may allow for deeper exploration. Concerns about the age ranges covered by each survey brought clarifications on how SHARE and GGP complement the ESS by ensuring strong representation of older and younger populations. Collectively, these interactions surfaced many of the practical issues researchers face when designing cross‑national surveys.

Mid-way through the webinar, participants were offered a five‑minute reflection break, during which they were encouraged to consider which questions or themes resonated most with them, how they might use the module in their own research, and what applications or gaps they perceived. This brief pause served as an important bridge between the methodological content and the discussion of research applications. It nudged participants from passive listening into active conceptualisation.

Participants also raised issues related to environmental literacy in school curricula, differences in policy priorities between rural and urban areas, demographic differences, and the ways SoGreen data could support national planning or EU‑level debates. The presenters responded thoughtfully and repeatedly encouraged attendees to join the SoGreen expert network, reach out with collaboration ideas, incorporate the module into future surveys, and follow project updates via the mailing list. This consistent emphasis on community‑building aligned closely with the project’s open‑science principles.

From Data to Insight: Research and Policy Opportunities

In the second half of the webinar, Vytenis introduced three emerging research questions that the module is already well‑positioned to address: 1) Who is more resistant to change in lifestyle due to climate policies?; 2) How fair do citizens perceive the climate policies to be, and how does this perception vary by socioeconomic status?; And 3) How do personal experiences of environmental quality shape climate concern and personal responsibility? He demonstrated how the SoGreen design supports rich cross‑national and cross‑generational analysis. Vytenis also highlighted several potential policy applications, ranging from informing transport planning to assessing public acceptance of climate‑related measures.

Looking ahead, several developments are already in progress. ESS CRONOS data including SoGreen items will be released in April 2026, with SHARE data to follow in early 2027. Both GGP and GUIDE will field the module throughout 2026 and 2027, expanding its reach further. A “Baby SoGreen Module,” adapted specifically for children, will be piloted in Ireland. Additionally, future waves of ESS CRONOS will include more questions covering housing, green jobs, artificial intelligence, and climate policy experiments, offering even broader opportunities for research and policy insight.

Conclusion

Professor Gary Pollock closed the session by highlighting SoGreen’s commitment to open science: publicly available data and widespread re-use. He encouraged participants to stay connected through the newsletter and the SoGreen network. This reinforces the fact that SoGreen is not simply a data‑collection effort, but also a growing community of professionals invested in understanding the social aspects of the green transition

References

Savaş, E. B., Deimantas, V. J., Bottoni, G., Ma, L., Thumann, B., Fabel, T., Sloan, S., & Ramaj, K. (2025). Social Aspects of the Green Transition (SoGreen) Module Development. SHARE-ERIC. https://doi.org/10.6103/JGFP-J480