Climate Change Skepticism and Excuses

According to a representative survey of over 2,000 German adults, a vast majority believes in climate change. Only 6 percent deny that climate change exists. There is less agreement when it comes to the causes of climate change: About three-fourths of Germans agree with the scientific consensus that climate change is mainly due to human activities. Just under 22 percent of respondents are “climate change skeptical” in the sense that they believe that climate change either does not occur at all or is primarily a natural phenomenon. Ignorance about the state of research and a lack of trust in science contribute to the relatively low public consensus. Only 61 percent of respondents consider human-made climate change to be a scientific consensus. Those who hold climate skeptical views are also more likely to believe that there are many different scientific opinions about climate change. In addition, 12 percent of respondents said that they trust scientists “not at all” or “not much” and 34 percent have only a moderate level of trust. Trust in science tends to be greater among male respondents, as well as among more educated people and those who score higher on altruism and patience. Only 14 percent of AfD voters and just slightly more than half of the FDP and CDU/CSU voters say they trust climate research. Around 83 percent of respondents believe that Germany should do anything in its power to combat climate change now. Common excuses, such as waiting for an international solution or progress in climate protection technology, are rejected by a large majority of Germans. Also, 87 percent believe that each individual can do something about climate change. Only 57 percent consider that it is feasible to combat climate change without social hardship. Strikingly, sup-porters of parties that are less in favor of redistribution are more pessimistic about the issue of social justice.