Agency Report
Berlin – Public support in Germany for the energy transition and action on climate change has weakened, according to a new survey.
The share of people who say they are very concerned about the consequences of climate change has fallen sharply in recent years, a representative poll by the Allensbach polling institute commissioned by the BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt found.
Between 2010 and 2019, the proportion of respondents expressing serious concern rose from 29% to 51% and remained at a similarly high level until 2022. Since then, however, it has dropped to 36% and most recently to 33%.
The institute attributed the shift primarily to the interaction of multiple crises – from economic difficulties to the war in Ukraine and growing uncertainty about the overall outlook.
The survey was based on 1,029 face-to-face interviews with people aged 16 and over, conducted between November 22 and December 4, 2025.
Some 43% of respondents consider Germany’s decision to phase out nuclear power and accelerate the expansion of renewable energy to be the right path, while 37% regard the policy as misguided.
Criticism is particularly widespread in eastern Germany, among lower-income groups and supporters of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the Free Democrats (FDP), the survey found.
Within the past year, the share of energy transition supporters who believe Germany is taking the right measures has fallen from 52% to 33%.
Overall, 37% view the energy transition mainly as a risk, compared with 28% who see it as an opportunity.
The survey also found that two-thirds of respondents expect the energy transition to significantly alter Germany’s landscape through the expansion of wind turbines and new power lines.
