Problems of Environmental Inequality and the German Longitudinal Environmental Survey (GLEN)

The European Green Deal sets the target of climate neutrality by 2050, and Germany plans to meet this target by 2045. The energy transition over the next two decades is an enormous challenge. European societies are still around 80 percent based on fossil fuels and require massive investment in infrastructure for the generation, transmission and use of energy from renewable sources. Simple nudging measures, as discussed and researched in social psychology and behavioral economics, are not sufficient for the successful implementation of the energy transition. Effective measures require that the negative external effects of greenhouse gases have a price. However, carbon taxes are unpopular and reinforce social inequalities, which can be greatly reduced by carbon tax recycling. Other instruments such as subsidies for e-vehicles, heat pumps, building renovation, etc. favor the wealthier parts of society. Urban areas need to be transformed into "green" cities to mitigate climate risks, but the distribution of environmental goods and disadvantages in cities also has a social dimension. We will illustrate the problems of "environmental justice" using two examples from earlier studies. These results have their limitations. We will try to overcome the limitations of previous studies by establishing a new large panel project in Germany. The German Longitudinal Environmental Study - or GLEN study for short - aims to collect panel data from a large random sample of the German population. The online survey, which is supplemented by PAPI data, is intended to provide information on the attitudes and behavior of the household members surveyed on many aspects of climate policy and the environment. The bi-annual panel survey includes modules on mobility, consumption patterns, housing and building characteristics, carbon footprints, health, environmental awareness, acceptance of environmental policy and other environmentally relevant characteristics. The project includes survey experiments and the data is supplemented by information on the regional context and geo-referenced data. All data will be open for analysis by the international scientific community.