No electricity from nuclear power
Almost two thirds of German citizens are prepared to pay more for green electricity
Germans have been using nuclear power for over 40 years. According to the latest lifetime extension, this will continue to be the case for at least the next 25 years. In contrast, however, a contrary trend can currently be observed among private households: Almost two thirds (61 %) of German citizens want to use renewable energies, e.g. hydro, wind or solar power, in the next ten years - even if they are more expensive. In contrast, cheap nuclear power is only relevant for a minority of 8 % of Germans. This is the result of a recent study by the BAT Foundation for Future Studies, in which 2,000 people aged 14 and over were surveyed on a representative basis in Germany.
Professor Dr Ulrich Reinhardt: „The majority of the population is prepared to pay for green electricity. If only half of those in favour of alternative forms of energy really make the switch, the current share of private final energy consumption of around 10 % will triple in just one decade.
Environmentally conscious behaviour decreases at the same time
One in four citizens would rather enjoy life
Are Germans really prepared to change their personal consumer behaviour in order to protect the environment in the long term? More than two thirds (68 %) of Germans say they would accept noticeable restrictions if this would preserve nature and the environment in the long term. Women in particular (71 %) think about the future and put personal needs on the back burner for the good of nature (64 % of men say the same).
However, a comparison over time shows that environmentally conscious attitudes are declining (1984: 81 %, 2007: 71 %, 2010: 68 %). In contrast, the proportion of Germans who want to continue to enjoy life, even if this has a lasting impact on the environment, is increasing (1984: 16 %, 2007: 20 %, 2010: 25 %). Young people in particular are less willing to compromise and do not want to be restricted by environmentally friendly behaviour (1984: 17 %, 2007: 25 %, 2010: 31 %).
Reinhardt: „Although the younger generation is more willing than average to install solar panels, separate waste or use public transport, for example, they are not prepared to give up going on holiday abroad and are also less willing than the rest of the population to buy organic products or save water and electricity.“ It is therefore not surprising that only two in five young people (42 %) state that they have become more environmentally aware in recent years - in 2007 it was still one in two (53 %). But it is not only among 14 to 34-year-olds that environmental behaviour is not developing any further: only one in two Germans (48 %) state that they are more environmentally aware today than in the past. In 2007, 60 % said the same.
„For Germans, and the younger generation in particular, their own quality of life is increasingly becoming just as worthy of preservation and protection as nature and the environment. The call to do without - in the sense of turning back the status quo - with the consequence of having to accept losses in quality of life will fail. Instead, the wheel must be turned forwards - by expanding resource-saving forms of energy and technologies,“ says Reinhardt.
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