In this report, we examine the ways in which the German public views and assesses climate change. We dig deeper into the diversity of climate change attitude profiles and examine their interplay with political preferences.
Our report finds that the majority of German respondents is aware that the climate is warming. They regard the climate crisis as a serious problem and support a government response. Yet there is still room for improvement in raising public climate change awareness in Germany, with a significant group of respondents underestimating climate change’s severity and the negative consequences it will have. The report also shows that a majority of voters across the political spectrum regard climate issues as relevant and sometimes as a decisive factor in the elections, and that it is politically worthwhile for almost all parties to develop an active climate policy.