Climate - Study: majority in favor of climate protection, concern about justice
A majority of people in Germany are very or even extremely concerned about climate change. However, according to a study presented today by the Bertelsmann Stiftung, people have major concerns about which climate protection measures are the right ones. More than half of those surveyed (55%) believe that the energy and transportation transition is putting social cohesion at risk.
According to the analysis conducted in collaboration with the Research Institute for Sustainability Helmholtz Center Potsdam (RIFS), 69% of Germans are in favour of the energy transition, i.e. the switch from fossil fuels to renewable energies. At 56%, approval of the transport transition is not quite as high. 12 percent reject the energy transition completely, while the figure for the transport transition is 19 percent.
Concerns about implementation
When it comes to implementation, however, respondents express major concerns. Only around 20 percent feel that the transformation is fair. Germans consider the distribution of benefits and costs between high and low earners, between companies and consumers and between urban and rural populations to be particularly unfair.
Three out of four people in Germany (76%) consider the energy transition to be expensive. 45% assume that energy prices will not fall. One in two (50 percent) do not believe that the transport transition will make mobility cheaper.
"This sentiment shows that it is neither a good idea to do climate protection without social compensation, nor to forego climate protection in favor of social cohesion," said study author Sara Holzmann. According to the Bertelsmann Stiftung economist, an unchecked climate crisis is also a threat to democracy, not least due to the expected distributional conflicts.
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- To address concerns about fairness in the implementation of climate protection measures, the Bertelsmann Foundation and Helmholtz-Zentrum Potsdam – German Geo Research Center suggest integrating social compensation into the energy transition process in Germany.
- Despite the high approval rates for the energy transition in Germany (69%), traffic transition (56%) and climate protection in general, a significant number of people express concerns about the potential impact on traffic, energy prices, and social cohesion.
- Germany, known for its ongoing climate change discussions, is reevaluating its energy and transportation transition plans, taking into account the public's concerns about affordable energy, mobility, and social fairness.
- The Bertelsmann Foundation economist, Sara Holzmann, emphasizes the necessity of balancing climate protection with social considerations to maintain social cohesion and prevent potential conflicts, as an unaddressed climate crisis poses a threat to democracy.
- The majority of people in Germany (76%) consider the energy transition as an expensive initiative, questioning its affordability against the ongoing social, economic, and environmental transformations needed for climate protection.
Source: www.stern.de
