Most Germans say government's 2030 climate action package does not go far enough

Fifty-three percent of Germans say the government's new 2030 climate action plan doesn’t go far enough in terms of emissions reduction, polls by public broadcaster ZDF show. 20 percent said the climate package is enough to address the challenges, and 13 percent said it went too far. At 78 percent, Green Party voters were most inclined to say the measures are insufficient, followed by 61 percent of the Social Democrat Party (SPD) voters, 39 percent of voters of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative CDU/CSU alliance and 28 percent of right-wing nationalist AfD voters, although the party officially denies that humans have a sizeable effect on the global climate. However, 63 percent of all respondents also said they would reject higher fuel prices as a result of more ambitious climate action measures. Nearly 60 percent of respondents said climate change is the most pressing problem for policymakers.

Environmental concerns were also reflected in popularity gains for the Greens. The party reached a new all-time high of 27 percent in the ZDF voting intention poll, on par with Merkel's conservatives. 55 percent of people said the Greens have the greatest credibility when it comes to dealing with climate change.  

The government coalition's climate package released on 20 September has been widely criticised for being insufficient for reaching Germany's 2030 emissions reduction targets, with the low price for CO2 emissions being the central point of criticism. Increasing the price would also increase fuel prices, which under the current plan initially would go up by about three euro cents in the first year. Merkel's conservatives have defended the low initial price of ten euros per tonne of CO2, arguing that it would take time for people to accept and adapt to the pricing scheme.