How to foster public support for European climate policies: Evidence from the German population

Europe's transition towards climate neutrality by 2050 requires major shifts in the structure of our economy and society - and wide societal backing. But how do citizens perceive climate change and what kind of EU climate policies do they support? New survey among German vot- ers shows that Germans generally prefer policy packages that (1) target financial support within the renewable energy sector, (2) include social investment policies, (3) are financed by increasing taxes on the wealthy, and (4) distribute resources across EU member states based on popu- lation size. Based on these findings, this policy paper formulates recom- mendations for climate policy making - inter alia to - couple climate mitigation policies with social investment or compensatory measures for lower-income households.