Many Germans recognise energy transition benefits, East-West divide – survey

The majority of people in Germany view renewable energies favourably, but many worry about costs associated with the energy transition and there are clear differences between the country's East and West, according to a survey commissioned by the energy industry-affiliated E.ON Foundation. Renewable energy sources are widely visible in eastern Germany’s states but on average are viewed less positively than in western states, the survey found. While only 54 percent of respondents from eastern states said that solar PV will play a major role in the future energy system, the share of people viewing the technology’s role optimistically was 63 percent in western states. For wind energy, the shares were 48 percent and 57 percent respectively.

Another key finding was that two thirds of people in the East do not believe that the energy transition will safeguard the country’s prosperity in the long run and 74 percent believe that climate action measures will overburden them financially. In the West, 68 percent said climate action costs could become a challenge for them. “If we want to convince people about the energy transition and climate action, this can only be achieved if we demonstrate benefits for the individual,” said E.ON Foundation manager Stephan Muschick. “This is true both for the West and the East,” he added. 

“Radical forces” are considered a threat to German business by less than half of respondents in the East, versus 65 percent of those in the West. Additionally, 35 percent of respondents in eastern states said that the energy transition, particularly the end of coal mining, is a major factor for structural change in their region, a sentiment share by 20 percent of respondents in the West. More than half (55%) of respondents in the East said that the migration of young people to other regions is the biggest challenge their local economy is facing.

Three eastern German states will elect a new government next month, Thuringia and Saxony on 1 September and Brandenburg on 22 September. The elections are highlighting political differences along the former political divide separating the communist and the capitalist German states, as polls predict that populist forces from left and right will take chunks of support from the centrist parties dominant in the West. While most people in the East also support climate action and the expansion of renewables, electoral success by the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the nationalist-left Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) could hurt progress in a region that stands to benefit disproportionately from the shift towards clean energy.