Fewer people in Germany ready to accept economic losses to save climate – survey
Clean Energy Wire
Fewer people in Germany are ready to accept lower economic growth as a consequence of climate action, a survey by research institute RWI has found. About 52 percent of respondents in the survey, conducted in late 2025, said they would put up with lower growth to protect the climate, down from nearly 65 percent in 2022.
At the same time, Germany’s economic situation replaced climate change as the greatest perceived problem facing the country, the RWI survey also showed. In 2021, over 59 percent of respondents said they consider the climate to be among the two most pressing issues. By 2025, the share dropped to only about 32 percent, while 37 percent said the economy is among their greatest concerns. This was followed by international security (29%), inflation (21%), and immigration (19%), with the latter dropping significantly compared to previous surveys.
“The lower perceived urgency must not be confused with growing scepticism towards climate change,” the RWI noted. Nearly 94 percent of respondents in 2025 said they regard climate change as a real phenomenon and more than 72 percent said they think human activity is responsible for it. “These figures have remained consistently high since the first survey in 2021,” the research institute added.
The survey also found that consent to the main measures of Germany’s energy transition likewise remains high. Nearly 89 percent said they approve of the further expansion of renewable energy sources and 88 percent backed the expansion of high-voltage transmission lines – 17 percentage points more than in 2021. Over three quarters (77.7%) said they endorse Germany’s coal exit, while 58 percent said the same about the country’s phase-out of nuclear power.
Most respondents (84.4%) said they would like to see proceeds from Germany’s CO2 price invested in more renewable energy sources, followed by support for grid fees (66.7%). About 43 percent said the money should be paid back directly to citizens as a “climate bonus,” up from only 30 percent in 2022, RWI said.
The results carry two main lessons for policymakers, said RWI energy expert Manuel Frondel. “First, they should quickly enact far-reaching economic reforms. And second, they must not treat climate action and economic relief as two separate fields of action,” Frondel argued. Lowering the electricity tax as promised in the government’s coalition agreement would be an obvious first step in this direction, he added. “This would bring consumers significant relief.”
Europe’s largest economy has been grappling with low growth and other economic difficulties since the coronavirus pandemic. The recovery was hampered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the 2022 energy crisis, which led to persistently higher energy prices in Germany, as well as by lower global demand for Germany’s exports.
The summer of 2026, which brought extreme heat and drought to Germany and many other countries in Europe, has put climate change firmly back on the agenda of many people. Recent surveys suggested that climate adaptation as an immediate response to more frequent extreme weather events is rapidly gaining importance for many citizens, while consent to preventive climate action and decarbonisation measures also remains high.