Most Germans want more climate action from their municipalities - survey

German citizens would like to see their municipalities act more on climate change, according to a survey commissioned by the Bertelsmann foundation. More than half of the citizens surveyed said their local authorities attach only medium importance to climate protection (55 percent) and climate adaptation (54 percent) measures. Many would like to see concrete measures from their municipalities and mentioned for example the desire for different or new transport services and concepts. "The municipalities should make use of the expectations and attitudes of their citizens and involve all actors on the path to more climate protection," says Brigitte Mohn, executive board member of the foundation. According to their own statements, municipalities recognize the importance of climate protection.

In a survey conducted by the German Institute of Urban Affairs (Difu) last year, 87 percent of the municipalities stated that they have a climate protection concept and 80 percent said they were drawing up greenhouse gas balances. Around half of the municipalities (52%) stated they had a climate adaptation concept in place or were working on one. Increasing popular acceptance of climate activities is important formunicipalities, said Cornelia Rösler, head of the environmental research department at Difu. "Support and participation of as many local actors as possible in combination with the currently solid funding offers from the federal government and many states are prerequisites for successful implementation of necessary steps toward climate neutrality."