The Government Should Do More for the Environment

The Government: 70% of Germans are of the opinion that the government should do more to protect the environment (2004: 63%). It should legislate further environmental protection laws and guidelines in order to monitor the compliance to existing laws and facilitate the expansion of alternative and renewable energy sources.

Taxes: Germans oppose higher energy taxes: 78% are against them. However, the majority does not have anything against the taxation of airplane fuel. Such a measure was met with the largest approval amongst the specified tax policy issues: 81% are in favor of airplane fuel taxes.

Justice: Environmental measures, such as higher energy taxes or the introduction of road tolls, compete with our perceptions of social justice. A large part of the population believes that one of the state’s central duties is to make advancements in social justice; hence, environmental protection and social justice are not always free of conflict.