Solutions for a climate-neutral and socially just future

Solutions for a climate-neutral and socially just future

Expertise, concepts and dialogue

News

We started our new thinktank with the publication of our paper “Securing a socially just and climate-neutral future – 11 Insights for a Social Climate Policy”. From now on, we contribute with our expertise, ideas and concepts to the public debate.

About Us

Our vision is a climate-neutral and socially just future. That means well-being and participation for all.

We want to contribute to this future with our expertise, ideas and concepts. We integrate climate and social policy from the outset and develop new solutions. We base our work on a solid evidence-base, show different options and introduce these to the public debate.

Our work

We develop ideas and concepts that integrate climate protection and social policy for the benefit of the population. The times in which climate protection could be achieved merely by changing the sources of electricity generation are over. The transformation to climate neutrality affects all areas of life and implies change on many levels. The decisive question is how the opportunities, costs and challenges of these transformations are distributed. To help everyone to make the most of the transition to a life without greenhouse gas emissions, new concepts are needed that integrate climate and social policy.

We develop proposals for a Social Climate Policy in the sectors energy, building, transport and food. We build our work on a solid evidence base and show different policy options.

Our way

The transformation to climate neutrality comes with profound change in almost all areas of life. As with all important changes, the question arises who contributed to the problem of climate change, who contributes to the transformation toward climate neutrality and who will benefit from a successful transformation. German climate policy has so far neglected the social dimension and the opportunity of organizing a socially just transformation. Instead, climate and social concerns were often pitted against each other.

We want to change this with Zukunft Klimasozial. We believe that the transformation can only be successful if it is designed in a socially just way from the outset. An integrated climate social policy builds on four pillars: (i) establishing a climate-friendly public infrastructure and public services, (ii) targeted promotion of technology switch for low and middle incomes, (iii) regulatory policy and (iv) redistributive use of revenues from CO2-pricing via a climate dividend. These tasks require a modern welfare state that is able to organize simple payments to all citizens as well as climate-neutral social services. To this end, we are developing concepts and solutions for an integrated Social Climate Policy.

Our team

We have been working as experts in social and climate policy for many years and bring together profound knowledge from different disciplines in both policy fields. This interdisciplinarity enables us to develop concrete proposals that work, open up opportunities for many and can be implemented swiftly by public administrations. Our work is independent of political parties and solutions-oriented.

Our expertise has led us to participate in various expert advisory groups and contribute to studies, conferences, events and academic publications.

Dr. Brigitte Knopf

Director

knopf@zukunft-klimasozial.de

Dr. Ines Verspohl

Head of social policy

verspohl@zukunft-klimasozial.de

Astrid Schaffert

Policy Analyst

schaffert@zukunft-klimasozial.de

Marie-Louise Zeller

Scientific Advisor

zeller@zukunft-klimasozial.de

Sina Lippmann

Press and public relations

lippmann@zukunft-klimasozial.de
+49 (0)15560 186362

Felicitas Kaiser

Data Analyst

kaiser@zukunft-klimasozial.de

Anja Wermann

Office Management

wermann@zukunft-klimasozial.de
+49 (0)30 22430261

Our Advisory Board consists of experts from various political and civil society backgrounds. The members advise us with regard to the challenges of a socially just, climate-neutral future and support us strategically. The Advisory Board is currently being set up and will comprise around 15 people.

Zukunft KlimaSozial is independent of political parties and is funded by the European Climate Foundation.

Press

Here you will find our latest press releases. For all media enquiries, to arrange interviews or to be added to our press mailing list, please contact us at: presse@zukunft-klimasozial.de

11 Insights for a Social Climate Policy

Social justice depends on value judgments. A socially just climate policy must therefore be based on political and societal debate. Beyond the dimensions of income and wealth distributions, other factors also matter – work, health, access to public services and political participation: All these determine how climate change affects different households, who contributes to climate change and what effects the transition will have on different people. Further categories include socio-cultural differences (gender, migration status), spatial differences (urban versus rural as well as East versus West Germany) and different generations.

Rich people produce more climate-damaging emissions. This is especially true in the areas of mobility, buildings and consumption. The lower deciles of the income distribution have already reduced their emissions stronger in relative terms than the upper income groups, although the latter have more resources to adopt climate-friendly behaviours. Moral appeals are not enough, a regulatory framework is needed on the path to climate neutrality.

The climate crisis has material and health consequences that are distributed unevenly. The effects depend on structural and individual factors, such as individuals’ financial resources and health. Vulnerable and poorer groups suffer more from heatwaves, air pollution and severe weather events. Severe weather events can strongly compromise health systems and public order. All of society will have to shoulder the rising costs of climate adaptation.

Climate policy in Germany to date has focused on raising prices on energy and carbon emissions as well as financial subsidies, all of which have led to a considerable reduction in emissions. Prices on energy and carbon emissions have acted as consumption taxes that disadvantage lower and middle-income households with their regressive distributional impact. Few compensation mechanisms have been introduced. Subsidies mainly profit wealthy households. In sum, climate policy to date has not been socially balanced.

A socially just transition toward climate neutrality can help contain the climate crisis and reduce the risk of extreme weather events. This can prevent human suffering and destruction. Ambitious climate policies can positively affect health outcomes and save lives by increasing air quality, promoting active mobility and healthy diets. A stronger focus on the social dimension of climate policy, especially in the transport and building sectors, can produce other positive outcomes by making infrastructure more inclusive for different groups and generally the quality of life of many. Climate protection can therefore also improve our health and increase public participation.

Discussions to date mainly consider the social impacts of climate policy, whereas the climate effects of social policy are often ignored. Integrating climate and social policies means making social policy climate neutral without compromising on social outcomes – for example, when designing the infrastructure for social services such as hospitals, care services and day care centres. Thus, decentralizing health care centres could help jointly achieve social and climate policy objectives.

The EU’s European Green Deal provides an ambitious climate policy agenda. A fundamental principle of the Green Deal is to leave no one behind. Strong conditions for the disbursement of incomes from carbon pricing, the establishment of a social climate fund and reporting requirements all create impetus for a more social climate policy in Germany. This impetus now needs to be actively taken up.

Each climate policy measure, weather a ban, a subsidy or a tax, has a distributional impact in different dimensions of social justice. Each of these need to be analysed precisely, both across and within income deciles. Each climate policy measure should therefore be subject to a social check prior to being introduced. Beyond that, all climate policy measures should be subject to regular review of their social impacts. A solid evidence-base of data and indicators is required to ensure a meaningful social check and successfully monitor progress.

To design a socially just transition it is essential that no one is overburdened by rising costs and demands. Rather, as many as possible should be able to contribute to the transition. The four pillars of a socially just transition are:

  1. establishing climate-friendly public infrastructure and public services,
  2. targeted subsidies for technology switch for low and middle incomes,
  3. regulatory policy and
  4. redistributive use of revenues from carbon pricing via a climate dividend. In a first step, the climate dividend can start as per-capita payments before focussing on vulnerable households.

In order to differentiate climate dividends and subsidies by income, we need information about household incomes. To avoid non-take-up of means-tested subsidies especially by less educated households, information on households’ income should be automatically available to bodies responsible for subsidies. In a modern welfare state based on digital structures, the tax administration can provide this information. This would reduce bureaucracy and make public administration more accessible.

Our economy faces many challenges. Next to coping with climate change, we also face demographic change, digitalization of work as well as geopolitical changes. The question arises, who will pay for the costs associated with confronting these challenges. On the path to climate neutrality our social market economy therefore requires an ecological and social renewal. A new vision of a Social Climate economy reconciles climate protection, economic freedom and social security.

Curious about Zukunft KlimaSozial?

Stay informed. Subscribe to our newsletter (German only).