Public support for climate action is underestimated in the German political domain

Combatting climate change requires political action. However, whether politicians in democratic countries implement climate actions depends on their perception of the voters’ willingness to accept such actions. We contacted a unique sample of incumbent German politicians via their professional email addresses and compared the 1,599 respondents’ perceptions of the publics’ willingness to support climate action with the actual willingness reported in two nationally representative samples of about 1,000 Germans each. Across political parties, respondents underestimated public acceptance of taxes and laws, and the willingness to contribute 1% of income to mitigate climate change. This pluralistic ignorance effect was even more pronounced than the pluralistic ignorance effect obtained in the population, and it was strongest in the policy domains that are most effective in combatting climate change. These findings suggest that effectively addressing climate change may require raising awareness within the political sphere of actual public support for climate action.