Most Germans want faster and fairer energy transition – survey

The majority of German consumers support a faster transition from fossil fuels to clean energy sources, but would like to see a fairer and more socially responsible distribution of the costs, according to a survey conducted by the Federation of German Consumer Organisations (vzbv). Three-quarters of consumers support the transition to clean energy, but only 21 percent say they are satisfied with the pace of renewables expansion. The survey also shows that 75 percent of consumers want exemptions from levies, charges and taxes for energy-intensive industries to be abolished or paid for out of tax revenues instead of being shouldered additionally by private households and other companies. As for the additional costs caused by the CO2 price on heating oils and natural gas, nearly half of consumers are in favour of the burden being shared between landlords and tenants (43%), while a third say they want landlords to pay all the additional costs (30%). Over half of respondents said they support favourable electricity tariffs for citizens living near wind and solar power plants – a measure that is not included in the coalition agreement, vzbv notes. "This is a good opportunity for the new federal government to gear the energy transition much more towards consumers. Climate protection is the key task of the century, but it will only succeed if politicians really take the interests of consumers into account,” said vzbv energy expert Thomas Engelke.

Germany’s new government has cemented greater support for renewable energy in its coalition agreement. Recent polls show that support for the expansion of renewables in Germany remains strong, though the percentage of those who see it as very or extremely important has declined.