Page 66 - European Energy Innovation - winter 2018 publication

66 Winter 2018 European Energy Innovation
THE ENERGIEWENDE
Many German homeowners are willing to contribute to the transformation of energy systems through their own
investments, such as smart heating. In the “Efficiency House Plus with Electromobility” of the Federal Ministry for
the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, citizens can inform themselves about the technology.
©IASS/Rolf Schulten
experiences the Energiewende, and
that’s where the Barometer comes
in. The purpose of the household
survey is to gauge attitudes to the
objectives of the Energiewende and
its implementation, support levels for
the political parties and the Federal
Government, the extent of public
participation in the Energiewende, as
well as people’s overall willingness to
get involved. It also gathers data on
A BROAD MAJORITY SEES THE ENERGIEWENDE AS A JOINT TASK
If you think of your personal contribution to the energy transition, which of the
following statements is most applicable to you?
4 I The main thing is that I have sufficient
supply of affordable energy; nothing else is
particularly important to me.
3 I I think the Energiewende is wrong and
I don‘t want to take part in it.
3 I Don’t know.
(+ 5)
Changes compared to (- 1)
(- 4)
2017 [%]
people’s preferences when it comes
to a fair distribution of costs, trade-
offs in the area of climate protection,
and new ‘smart’ energy consumption
options in the home. In evaluating
the data for the Barometer, we pay
particular attention to the different
circumstances of different population
groups, for example in terms of
income, housing situation, mobility
behaviour, where they live, and the
2018 10 I I think that the Energiewende is a
[%]
good thing, but I cannot or do not
want to contribute much to it.
80 I The Energiewende is a joint task,
to which everyone in society, including
me, should contribute.
2017/2018 (n = 7.313; n = 6.447); figures in brackets:
changes compared to 2017 | Source: IASS/dynamis
extent to which they are affected by
energy poverty.
The results of the first two survey
waves show just how widespread
support for the Energiewende is in
Germany: About 90% of people are
basically in favour of it regardless
of where they live, their level of
education, income, or age. And more
than three quarters of the population
believe that the energy transition
is a “joint task” to which everybody
should contribute (see figure 1).
The respondents are, however, less
satisfied with the way the energy
transition is being implemented.
Criticisms centre on the questions
of costs, fairness and political
planning. For example, half of the
population (51%) believes that the
implementation is “unfair overall”,
while only one in five people (21%)
think that it is “fair overall”. At the
same time, dissatisfaction with the
policies pursued by the Federal
Government is growing.
For an overwhelming majority
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