Most important environmental issues in Germany 2020

According to data published by IPSOS, 44 percent of respondents in Germany thought that global warming or climate change was one of the top three environmental issues facing their country, the most of any category. By contrast, only four percent of respondents believe soil erosion to be a top three environmental issue.

Comparisons with other countries

In the same survey, respondents from different countries had different opinions on the most pressing environmental issues. In Great Britain, 40 percent of respondents thought that dealing with waste was the most important issue, while in Turkey the most important issue was seen to be deforestation.

Causes of climate change

While climate change was the most important issue in Germany, two percent of Germans in 2018 thought that climate change did not exist, with a further two percent believing it to be an entirely natural process. A far higher percentage thought that climate change was mainly due to human activity, with 12 percent advising it was entirely caused by it.