BERLIN, May 3 (Xinhua) -- At 81 percent, a large majority of Germans saw a need, or even a "very large" need, for more action to protect the climate, according to the latest DeutschlandTrend survey published by public broadcaster ARD.
Just as many Germans thought that their country "should set a good example" in climate protection, the ARD poll results released on Thursday night indicated.
Nonetheless, the government's proposed carbon dioxide (CO2) tax, as a measure to increase climate protection, was only supported by 34 percent, the poll showed.
Sixty-two percent of Germans surveyed were opposed to a tax surcharge on fossil fuels, which are responsible for most of the world's carbon dioxide emissions, was high.
The idea of introducing a CO2 tax only found majority support among supporters of the Green Party, of whom 60 percent were in favor.
Supporters of the German Social Democrats (SPD) showed the second strongest level of support for the CO2 tax at 40 percent in favor.
Interestingly, although the German liberal party (FDP) has been strictly opposed to such a tax, 31 percent of the party's supporters were still in favor of its introduction.
The CO2 tax found the least resonance among supporters of the populist Alternative for Germany (AfD), at 11 percent. More than half of AfD supporters also disagreed with the statement "I think it is good that we talk so much about climate protection."
Back in March, the government admitted that Germany would probably miss its target of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 40 percent by 2020 compared to 1990 levels.
Only 32 percent savings in GHG emissions appeared possible, according to the government's most recent climate protection report.
The German Environment Minister Svenja Schulze (SPD) has championed the idea of a tax on CO2 in order to help Germany meet its GHG reduction targets.
What this tax could look like in concrete terms is currently unclear. The SPD-led environment ministry wants to discuss it during a meeting of the government's climate cabinet in July.
The ministry's proposed CO2 tax would ensure that people on low incomes were not taxed more heavily and Schulze recently suggested that the "revenue from the tax could be repaid" to German citizens.
Andreas Jung, a deputy leader of the conservative CDU/CSU parliamentary faction, has welcomed the levy, saying that "if carbon dioxide gets a price tag, then the most economic measure will prevail and not the one with the largest state subsidy."
In contrast, his colleague Carsten Linnemann, another deputy leader of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, strongly criticized the CO2 tax because it would not be accepted by citizens.
"Politicians raise taxes, and if they do not reach the target, taxes will simply be raised again. That must stop," Linnemann said, calling instead for an expansion of emissions trading at the European level.
