PACE study: Trust in government climate action has fallen

The current survey shows: At first glance, the psychological climate situation in April 2026 appears remarkably calm. Willingness to act, approval of specific measures, including measures that are particularly relevant or under discussion in the acute oil and gas crisis – almost everything has remained within a narrow corridor since 2022. Even a speed limit limited in time to the oil and gas crisis does not currently receive greater approval than a general speed limit.

"However, this stability seems deceptive," explains Professor Cornelia Betsch, Director of the Institute for Planetary Health Behaviour at the University of Erfurt. "The population wants more climate protection in principle, but has less and less confidence in the political system." At around 16 per cent, trust in government climate action is at its lowest level since measurements began. "If government programmes, such as the German government's new climate protection programme, are perceived as inadequate, the perceived responsibility shifts further into the private sphere: Existing asymmetries ('my actions have more impact than the government's') are slightly reinforced. Overall, we observe that responsibility tends to be individualised, e.g. also in that discourses move away from regulation and towards individual incentives, and thus in the broader perception climate protection seems to be a private rather than a state task."

Details of the results can be found on the PACE website.(in German only)