Germans see great need for climate action, oppose CO鈧� tax 鈥� survey
ARD
A large majority of Germans (81%) see a great need for action to protect the climate and say that climate change cannot be stopped without restrictions on people鈥檚 lives,聽. However, 62 percent of respondents said they are against the introduction of a CO鈧� tax.
The German government is currently debating the introduction of some form of CO鈧� price to help reach climate targets 鈥� especially for the transport and buildings sectors 鈥� but has only just begun discussing possible designs. There are聽many ways a price on carbon could be implemented, and different stakeholders favour different models, such as a cap-and-trade approach or a carbon tax, as mentioned in the survey. German politicians have suggested adjusting other energy taxes and levies, or paying back the CO鈧� tax revenues to citizens, to help low-income households cope with the transition. Infratest dimap鈥檚 full question reads: 鈥淭he introduction of a CO鈧� tax is discussed in the climate action debate. There could be an additional levy on climate-harmful CO鈧� to reduce its emissions. Citizens could be relieved elsewhere. Are you 鈥� in principle 鈥� for or against the introduction of a CO鈧� tax?鈥澛�A survey conducted by the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies听(IASS) in February 2019 had already shown that Germans remain strongly in favour of the energy transition, but want fairer distribution of its costs.
After shying away from the debate for a long time, the governing parties and Chancellor Angela Merkel herself have recently announced their willingness to look into CO鈧� pricing as a means of reaching Germany鈥檚 2030 climate targets. Several ministries have commissioned studies to define the design of such a scheme. Last week,聽politicians started to pitch ideas for the design of CO鈧� pricing in Germany聽and the government鈥檚 climate cabinet is to discuss the subject in July.
