German politicians not good at explaining necessity of climate action – researcher

In a bid to avoid the decision to implement climate protection steps such as introducing a price on CO₂ emissions, politicians often hide behind citizens who supposedly do not want such measures, Director and Chief Economist of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) Ottmar Edenhofer told Süddeutsche Zeitung in an interview. Empirical studies confirm a high willingness of citizens to pay more for coal, oil and gas, said Edenhofer. Politicians lacked the courage to explain to the voters that a price on CO₂ is necessary for effective climate protection, but needed to explain the why and how. “In explaining, however, German politics is not at all that good at the moment,” said Edenhofer.

Find the interview (behind paywall) in German here.