Climate Change Mitigation – A Question of Finances?

Climate change mitigation needs to be designed in a socially just way. A comprehensive final report provides numerous recommendations for policy action.

Climate change mitigation and social justice: These two important policy goals are intrinsically linked. The connection between them is gaining attention: The German federal government's Climate Protection Programme 2030 views climate change mitigation as a common goal with an explicit social dimension. It is important to distribute costs and benefits of energy and climate policies as justly as possible to ensure acceptance for and success of the transformation toward a carbon-neutral energy supply that is necessary for Germany's climate goals. To this end, all social strata must be enabled to participate in and shape the energy transition.

Targeted measures unburden households

To tackle these challenges, the final report of the project on a socially sustainable energy transition introduces policy recommendations for several fields of action. These targeted measures of social policy and energy efficiency policy can help ease the burden on low-income households without impairing Germany's climate policy goals.

The report focuses on these questions: How can socially sustainable climate change mitigation work by lowering the burden of energy costs on low-income households? How should existing transfer payments be adapted to encompass aspects of energy efficiency while guaranteeing the socio-cultural margin of subsistence? How can users be enabled to conserve energy?

The results of the final report are summarised in two policy papers:

• Final Report: Socially just design of climate policy and energy policy for low-income households
• Policy Paper: Klimaschutz – Eine Frage des Geldbeutels?
• Policy Paper: Klimaschutz und soziale Belange lokal denken

Contact person: schnelleradelphi [dot] de (Andreas Schneller)