Extreme weather “wake-up call” for many Germans to act on climate change – survey
Clean Energy Wire
The extreme weather events Germany experienced in recent years have served as a “wake-up call” for many people in the country to ramp up their individual emissions reduction efforts. In a survey commissioned by heating company Stiebel Eltron, 82 percent of respondents said that weather events, from severe droughts to sudden floods and very heavy snowfall, encourage them to contribute more to the country’s energy transition, the Energiewende, with nearly 40 percent saying that “time is running out.” According to the heating company, the majority of respondents are most concerned with changing their personal heating systems, which consume about 70 percent of the energy used in the average private household.
Germany experienced one of its hottest and driest years ever in 2018, which fuelled the debate about the impact climate change already has on the country. A survey released in late 2018, however, found that Germans are less worried about climate change than many other Europeans. In the survey, 74 percent of Germans described themselves as “concerned or alarmed” when thinking about climate change, whereas the European average was 78 percent.
