Yes, I do… want climate protection. What is needed to get that approval?

For climate protection to succeed, a large majority needs to support it. The majority of the population is generally in favour of climate protection, but there is sometimes a lack of acceptance when it comes to specific political measures. But how do we bring about broad approval, what concerns do we need to address and how should policy instruments be designed? Political scientist Dirk Arne Heyen answers these and other questions on the acceptance of climate policy in the latest podcast episode of ‘All change please!’.

Listen to Oeko-Institut's podcast 'How do we get society on board with climate policy?' here

The podcast audio is in German; an English translation is here.

Approval is not all of the same kind

The majority of society is in favour of climate protection, but polarisation has increased when it comes to the question of the pace of change: for some it’s too fast, for others too slow. Measures that interfere with people’s everyday lives often provoke resistance, as we saw last year with the German Building Energy Act, colloquially called the Heating Act. Conflicts, crises and inflation increase the feeling of insecurity and worries about whether climate protection is personally affordable.

Dirk Arne Heyen
Senior Researcher, Environmental Law & Governance

In a recent policy brief prepared for the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, researchers at Oeko-Institut discussed the acceptance factors that can be politically influenced: policy design, communication and the approach to developing and implementing climate policy measures.

Shaping policy in a socially responsible way

‘We need a mix of measures not only to achieve the targets, but also to ensure social support for climate policy. Push instruments should always be accompanied by supporting measures in order to make climate-friendly behaviour easy and increase the level of acceptance,’ says Dirk Arne Heyen, summarising the research findings on policy design. If, for example, car use in urban areas is restricted or made more expensive, public transport must be made more attractive in good time. It fosters approval of such measures when they are combined with instruments that focus on positive incentives for climate protection action and promote a feeling of self-efficacy, such as producing one’s own solar power.

However, socially acceptable design and affordability are key to acceptance. Low-income households are disproportionately affected if energy costs rise due to carbonpricing, for example, and they do not have the financial means to renovate their building or switch to a heat pump, for example, or are dependent on their landlord. It is imperative that accompanying measures are implemented to not only partially offset rising costs for vulnerable groups, but also to address the structural causes of the carbon lock-in, i.e. the dependence on fossil fuels. This can be achieved through, for example, the provision of support for building refurbishment and the replacement of heating systems. ‘Yet previous funding instruments for refurbishment and replacing heating systems as well as electric vehicles and private charging stations have tended to benefit high-income households to date. This funding needs to have a more social focus,’ says Dirk Arne Heyen, ‘as has been the case to some extent in 2024 with the heating replacement subsidy in Germany.’

Communication and participation need to happen at an early stage

Early accompanying communication is also an important factor in facilitating the acceptance of climate protection. To prevent disinformation, important information on aspects relevant to acceptance such as effectiveness, costs and potential savings, social distribution effects should be communicated at an early stage, in an understandable way and using examples that are relevant to everyday life. Positive effects beyond climate protection should also play an important role. A wide variety of stakeholders are recommended as transmitters of this communication who reflect different interests and therefore appeal to different population groups.

Finally, it is important to allow key stakeholders and citizens to participate in decision-making processes appropriately and at an early stage. In addition, in some cases a policy instrument can first be trialled as part of a kind of ‘test phase’ in which the effectiveness and other effects can be experienced and evaluated before it is introduced permanently. Studies show that approval of push instruments in particular is often higher after they have been introduced than before. And without the majority of people saying ‘yes,’ climate policy will not make any progress.

Policy brief 'Acceptance factors for climate policy measures' by Oeko-Institut

Knowledge instead of everyday advice

Oeko-Institut’s podcast ‘All change please!’ is aimed at listeners from politics, research, the media, NGOs and the general public – anyone with an interest in political and environmental issues. It is hosted by Mandy Schossig, Head of Public Affairs & Communications, and Hannah Oldenburg, Digital Communications & Social Media Officer at Oeko-Institut. For about an hour – enough time for the ‘long haul of environmental podcasts’ - they talk to an expert from Oeko-Institut about the upcoming changes towards sustainability. The special episodes also address current political and social issues.