CAST BRIEFING 28 - April 2024 - How not to transform: Learning from the backlash against low-carbon heating policy in Germany

Based at the University of Bath, our additional core partners are Cardiff University, the University of East Anglia, the University of York, the University of Manchester and the charity Climate Outreach. [...] In the case of the proposed revisions to the GEG, the left-wing opposition party, The Left, argued they were unfair and yet another example that what is ‘affordable from a citizen’s standpoint’ is ‘forgotten’ (Int23, The Left). [...] MPs from the SPD and the Greens acknowledged how the financial implications of the proposed revisions to the GEG had created problems: the ‘social question’ of climate action needed to be integrated more into communications (Int19, Greens). [...] The importance of well-prepared and effective ‘communication’ and explanation In this case, the leaking of an early draft of the proposed revisions to the GEG prevented the German government and the responsible ministry from crafting a pro-active, trusted public engagement communications strategy, as recommended by previous CAST research. [...] With the government unable to challenge the policy backlash in the media, some opposition MPs across left and right were worried about the impact poor government communications had on delivering necessary climate action, now and in the future: “Because of stupid communication the government has wrecked the heating transition.