Environmental Consciousness in Germany 2020

The study series “Environmental Consciousness in Germany” has been conducted every two years since 1996 on behalf of the Federal Ministry for the Environment and the Federal Environment Agency to investigate how environmental awareness and environmental behavior are developing among the population in Germany. The aim is to understand the existing patterns of thought and action in society and to anticipate the needs of different population groups.

The main survey 2020 was conducted by infas Institute for Applied Social Sciences from November 1 to December 8, 2020. In addition to updating the central time series questions of the study series on environmental awareness, it included an extensive block of questions on this year´s main topic of “Climate protection and socio-ecological transformation”. As part of the main survey, a total of 2,115 people in Germany aged 14 and over were interviewed online (CAWI = computer assisted web interview). The people were recruited via the infas ad hoc panel. The panel participants were recruited using a random sample of landline and mobile phone numbers (dual frame).

Due to the large scope of the survey, three additional telephone surveys on specific topics were conducted in addition to the main survey. These covered the topics of “Economic structural change”, “Heating with wood” and “Climate adaptation”. For each of the additional surveys, 1,000 people in Germany aged 18 and over were interviewed by telephone. The surveys each comprised around ten questions. The surveys took place in November 2020 (topic of economic structural change), in April 2021 (topic of heating with wood) and in September 2021 (topic of climate adaptation), each as part of a representative omnibus survey. The framework of this multi-topic survey, which is conducted monthly by infas on the basis of a dual-frame sample in the ADM master sample, is a compact, purely social and political science-oriented questionnaire. The relevant topics were placed in a suitable position.<br>A) Main survey:

Impact of the coronavirus pandemic on personal life situation; importance of various socio-political issues (social justice, economic development, crime, public safety, wars, terrorism, environmental and climate protection, digitalization, unemployment, immigration, integration, state of the education system, state of the healthcare system, development of urban and rural areas, course and consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, data protection); areas where change is urgently needed (sufficient and affordable housing, better job opportunities and fair wages, improvement of educational opportunities, more environmental, nature and climate protection, integration of immigrants, improvement of public safety, more investment in infrastructure (such as road and rail networks, electricity and heating networks), reduction of poverty and social inequality, preventing discrimination and equal opportunities for all, strengthening healthcare and care, advancing digitalization, supply of healthy and affordable food); self-assessment of environmental awareness.

Politics and environmental quality: assessment of environmental quality in the city/municipality, in Germany and worldwide; assessment of the commitment of various actors to environmental protection (environmental associations, cities and municipalities, federal government, federal states, European Union, United Nations (UN), industry and business; citizens, science); importance of the requirements of environmental and climate protection in the following policy areas (economic policy, labor market policy, social policy, foreign policy, transport policy, agricultural policy, energy policy, tax and financial policy, urban development policy/urban and regional planning, health policy and education policy).

Environmental awareness and behavior: Agreement with various statements on the environment (it worries me when I think about the environmental conditions we are leaving behind for future generations, man-made environmental problems such as deforestation or plastic in the oceans outrage me, I am happy when people simply try out sustainable lifestyles, I am annoyed when environmentalists want to tell me how I should live, more environmental protection also means better quality of life and health for everyone, there are natural limits to growth that our industrialized world has long since reached, we should all be prepared to reduce our current standard of living for the benefit of the environment, each individual has a responsibility to ensure that we leave an environment worth living in for future generations, we must find ways to live well independently of economic growth, environmental protection is often used as an excuse to raise prices); personal behavior (frequency) when buying and using products and services (I buy food from controlled organic cultivation, when shopping I choose products with an environmental label such as the Blue Angel, the EU organic label or the EU Ecolabel, I eat meat for my main meals, I use a bicycle, public transport or walk for my everyday journeys, when buying household appliances I choose appliances with a particularly good energy efficiency rating, I heat my home in winter so that I am warm enough even in a T-shirt, I consciously limit my consumption in everyday life); active environmental protection behavior (donations to environmental or nature conservation groups, commitment to environmental and nature conservation, household purchases green electricity, avoiding air travel for climate protection reasons).

Exposure: Extent of health exposure to environmental pollution and environmental pollutants; level of perceived noise exposure from rail traffic noise, road traffic noise, air traffic noise, industrial and commercial noise and noise from the neighborhood.

Focus topic climate protection and socio-ecological transformation: Interest in the topic of climate change and climate protection; informedness about the topic of climate change and climate protection; causes of climate change; responsibility of various actors for climate protection (environmental associations, cities and municipalities, federal government, federal states, European Union, United Nations (UN), industry and business; citizens, science); preferred use of the CO2 price; willingness to contribute to climate protection with the following actions: Switching to a green electricity tariff, heating the home less in winter, buying household appliances with a very good energy efficiency rating even more consistently, using the car less often for everyday journeys, giving up air travel completely or partially, eating fewer meals with meat, consuming less overall, living in less living space; commitment to climate protection (publishing opinions, e.g. in social media, convincing others of climate protection in conversations, voting for a party that supports climate protection, participating in demonstrations for climate protection, signing online petitions or initiatives, actively participating in initiatives or organizations, donating money, investing money ecologically, e.g. in ecological funds, solar or wind energy projects); commitment in the aforementioned areas is conceivable in principle; evaluation of global movements for climate protection (great respect for people´s commitment, climate activists mainly spread exaggerated panic and excitement, actions of climate activists an important impetus to do more for climate protection, climate activists not credible, support the concerns of these movements); opinion on slowing down climate change (not dramatic, therefore no need, can be solved with technology without having to fundamentally change lifestyles, fundamental change in lifestyle necessary, politicians must act more quickly and consistently, decisive action necessary at all levels); important areas of political action to advance climate protection (make climate-damaging products more expensive so that climate-friendly products become more competitive, tighten ecological requirements for products, technologies and services, better label climate-friendly products, strengthen education and training for more climate protection, promote the development of climate-friendly products and technologies more strongly, ban particularly climate-damaging products, reduce climate-damaging subsidies); agreement with general statements on climate change (climate change also threatens the basis of life here in Germany, our way of life makes us partly responsible for the consequences of climate change in poorer countries, when it comes to the consequences of climate change, many things are greatly exaggerated, I am afraid of the consequences of climate change, I can´t also take care of climate protection, I personally often lack the opportunities to do something for climate protection, it makes me angry when I see that Germany is failing to meet its climate protection targets, climate change is already happening, so we should urgently take measures to adapt to its consequences); opinion on Germany´s commitment to climate protection (industrialized countries like Germany have an international obligation to lead the way in climate protection, Germany´s climate protection targets should be more ambitious because we are currently doing too little to meet the Paris Agreement, it is in Germany´s own interest to lead the way in climate protection, this creates jobs and strengthens international competitiveness, Germany has more pressing problems and should not lead the way in climate protection, Germany should provide more support to other countries in climate protection and in dealing with the consequences of climate change); assessment of the commitment in the areas of nutrition and food supply as well as agriculture and food production with regard to the following goals: ensure low food prices, create better supply of locally sourced food, reduce packaging waste, create better supply of vegetarian and vegan products and meals, ensure less food is thrown away, create better supply of healthy/balanced food, ensure food is free of pesticides and contaminants, expand organic farming, reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, ensure fair wages and working conditions for workers in the production and processing of food, ensure the welfare of farm animals, make the cultivation and production of food more environmentally friendly, halt the decline in biodiversity, e.g. in birds and insects; and e.g. birds and insects; opinion on the implementation of various measures in the areas of nutrition and food supply as well as agriculture and food production (introduce a uniform seal of approval that makes transparent which animal welfare standards are met, tighten the ecological requirements for food packaging, improve the range of vegetarian and vegan dishes in canteens and restaurants, expand state requirements for limiting food waste, carry out information and advice campaigns on climate-friendly nutrition, e.g. in schools and canteens, strengthen regional value chains in food production, promote the expansion of agriculture more strongly, link agricultural subsidies / state aid to the ecological performance of farmers, use in schools and canteens, strengthen regional value chains in food production, promote the expansion of organic farming more strongly, link agricultural subsidies / state aid to the ecological performance of farmers, reduce the use of pesticides, reduce the use of fertilizers); evaluate the commitment in the area of mobility with regard to the following goals: reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transport, ensure that everyday journeys can be made practicably and conveniently without a car, increase road safety, ensure that everyday journeys can be made cost-effectively, reduce traffic noise, reduce air pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and particulate matter, improve the accessibility of public transport; opinion on the implementation of various measures in the area of mobility (making local public transport cheaper for users, expanding the local public transport network and serving stops more frequently, expanding state funding for charging infrastructure for electric vehicles, including for charging at home, create more cycle paths and cycle lanes, introduce a speed limit of 130 km/h on freeways, change the distribution of road space so that there is more room for cycling and walking and less for cars, introduce a mileage-based car toll, reduce the health impact on people who live on busy roads, e.g. by limiting the speed limit. e.g. by limiting speed limits or driving bans); changing the personal importance of climate protection due to the coronavirus crisis.

Consumption and use: Frequency of use of different means of transport (car (without car sharing), car sharing vehicles, buses and trains in the region, bicycle, train from 100 km distance); airplane use for private travel in 2019; number of air travels in 2019 in short-haul, medium-haul and long-haul, awareness of the possibility of CO2 compensation; self-compensation payments made for all flights, for individual flights in 2019, not self-compensated, but airline or tour operator compensated the flight, no CO2 compensation; number of cars available in the household; reasons why no car in the household; mileage in kilometers per year with this car; driving license possession; car sharing membership in the household (myself, another household member, none); living space in square meters; energy requirements of the main residence; amount of monthly down payment for electricity; estimate of electricity consumption; purchasing behavior (sometimes I consciously afford the very best quality, I make a point of always having the latest technology, e.g. computer or smartphone, I make a point of wearing the latest fashionable clothes, when shopping I always look for good deals, I am often unsure which products are actually environmentally friendly).

Demography: Self-assessment of health status; interest in politics; sex; age; highest school-leaving qualification or university degree; main occupation; residential status; household composition; household size; number of children in the household up to 5 years, from 6 to 10 years, from 11 to 13 years and from 14 to 17 years; migration background (self or parent(s); net household income; occupational group; location; party preference; federal state; residential area.

Additionally coded: sequential number; weighting factor; extrapolation factor; core dimension environmental effect as UBS 2018 (items partially changed), core dimension environmental behaviour as UBS 2018; core dimension environmental cognition as UBS 2018 (reduced); 6-cluster solution; CO2 footprint in tons/year.

B) Additional surveys:

1. Economic structural change: Attitude towards economic structural change (I fundamentally reject economic structural change in order to protect the climate, switching to environmentally and climate-friendly products and production processes offers great employment opportunities that should be exploited, jobs affected by structural change should be retained for as long as possible, politicians should drive structural change forward swiftly but also in a socially responsible manner, there should be support programs, There should be support programs to help companies switch to climate-friendly production processes and products, regions severely affected should receive extensive financial support for sustainable structural change, all those affected should be involved in the planning and implementation of changes, preserving jobs is more important than climate protection, the workforce should be better qualified for future-oriented activities (e.g. production of electric vehicles or energy-efficient renovation of buildings), environmentally harmful or climate-damaging products and production processes should no longer be subsidized); political requirements in relation to the change towards a climate-friendly lifestyle (financial support for people on low incomes if the costs of electricity and heating or mobility increase due to climate protection measures, nationwide advice programs for low-income households that help to save energy costs in housing, subsidy programs for low-income households to purchase energy-saving household appliances, legal regulation to ensure that warm rent does not increase after energy-efficient renovation); right-left self-classification; party preference (Sunday question).

Demography: sex; marital status; nationality; born in Germany; school-leaving qualification; occupational status; household size; number of people aged 18 and over in the household; age of the target person at the time of the survey; age (categorized); employment status; migration background.

Additionally coded: consecutive interview number; interview date (year, month, day) Interview number; interview date (year, month, day); top-bottom scale - grouped; net equivalent income grouped; number of persons under 18 in the household; economic status; federal state; settlement structure region type of the BBSR overall information; EU urban-rural overall information; weighting factors; Nielsen areas; BIK municipality size classes overall information; area unit (west/east) overall information, Berlin West; area unit (west/east) Berlin shown separately.

2. Wood stoves: Wood stove in the house/apartment; frequency of heating with this wood stove in the cold season; reasons for using a wood stove (comfort and coziness, reduce heating costs of the main heating, contribution to climate protection, independent of imported oil and gas); other reasons for using a wood stove (open); evaluation of the following statements on wood stoves as correct or incorrect: Wood stoves and other wood-burning appliances together emit more particulate matter than the engines of cars, trucks and buses; burning wood in a wood stove has no negative impact on the climate; particulate matter from wood stoves is less harmful to health than particulate matter from the engines of cars, trucks and buses; Agreement with various statements on the subject of wood-burning stoves (I feel affected by the smoke and smell of wood-burning stoves in the neighborhood, using wood as a building material makes more sense than burning it in the stove, the legal regulations for wood-burning stoves in Germany are strict enough, heating with wood can contribute to climate protection because fossil fuels are saved, I find wood-burning stoves problematic because they impair air quality); Self-assessment of environmental awareness; interest in climate change and climate protection; residential status; right-left self-assessment; party preference (Sunday question).

Demography: sex; marital status; nationality; born in Germany; school-leaving qualification; occupational status; household size; number of persons aged 18 and over in the household; age of the target person at the time of the interview; age (categorized); employment status; migration background.

Additionally coded: consecutive interview number; interview date (year, month); top-bottom scale - grouped; net equivalent income grouped; number of persons under 18 years of age in the household; economic status; federal state; settlement-structural region type of the BBSR overall information; weighting factor; EU city-country overall information.

3. Climate adaptation: Interest in the topic of climate change and climate protection; level of conviction that we in Germany can overcome the problems resulting from climate change; level of concern about possible future consequences of climate change (flood events or storms lead to damage to my house or apartment, heat waves or periods of hot weather affect my physical well-being or my health, heat waves or periods of hot weather affect my performance, for example at work); agreement with various statements on climate change (I feel sufficiently informed about the possible risks that may be associated with the consequences of climate change for me personally, I think that I am taking sufficient personal precautionary measures, I believe that my city or municipality is sufficiently concerned with the issue and that sufficient precautionary measures are being taken); measures taken to prepare for and prevent climate change (I inform myself about how I should behave in the event of a disaster, for example in the event of extreme weather events or flooding, I insure my house or apartment as part of a natural hazard insurance policy), I insure my house or apartment against climate-related damage caused by floods, landslides, and avalanches, I use warning and information services such as pollen information services, heat warning services or flood warning services, I change my leisure or vacation planning (e.g. I avoid particularly strenuous activities or hot vacation regions), I change my winter sports activities); intended implementation of the aforementioned measures; self-assessment of environmental awareness; right-left self-assessment; party preference (Sunday question).

Demography: sex; marital status; nationality; born in Germany; school-leaving qualification; occupational status; household size; number of persons aged 18 and over in the household; age of the target person at the time of the interview; age (categorized); employment status; migration background.

Additionally coded: consecutive interview number; interview date (year, month); top-bottom scale - grouped; net equivalent income grouped; number of persons under 18 years of age in the household; economic status; federal state; settlement-structural region type of the BBSR overall information; EU city-country overall information weighting factor; Nielsen areas.