BERLIN, May 28 (Xinhua) -- 64 percent of Germans over the age of 14 described environmental and climate protection as a "very important challenge" last year, according to the environmental awareness study published by the German ministry for the environment on Tuesday.
The awareness about the importance of environmental and climate protection had "increased significantly" among German people in recent years, according to the study.
Back when the study was last conducted in 2016, 53 percent of Germans considered environmental and climate protection to be major challenges.
"The urgency of environmental and climate protection has reached the minds of citizens. At the same time, the majority of respondents see shortcomings in action," said German Environment Minister Svenja Schulze.
According to the study, which was conducted together with the Federal Environment Agency (UBA), a majority of Germans surveyed felt that the "relevant actors" were not doing enough to protect the environment and the climate. Germans were most critical of industry, with 8 percent agreeing that industry "does enough" or "does rather enough" for the environment. 14 percent of the surveyed felt the same about their government.
Environmental associations, in contrast, were perceived to be doing enough on climate protection by the majority of Germans.
Germans were also critical about their own commitments on climate protection, with only 19 percent believing that citizens in Germany were doing enough or rather enough for the climate.
Two years ago, the figure was significantly higher at 34 percent, according to the German environment ministry.
"I see these findings as a mandate," said the German environment minister. The state needed to provide "better framework conditions for climate protection".
Overall, Germans rated the state of the environment in Germany as significantly worse than in the previous survey.
Only 60 percent of Germans surveyed rated the state of Germany's environment as "good", compared with 75 percent in the last survey.
"The extremely dry last summer made the consequences of climate change tangible in Germany as well," commented UBA president Maria Krautzberger.
Insect deaths, air quality in German cities as well as plastic waste in the oceans had showed "how threatened our natural resources are," Krautzberger said.
Krautzberger emphasized that the survey results were "an appeal to everyone to gear their actions much more to environmental aspects".
After the European elections on Sunday, Schulze said that citizens had made it clear that they were concerned about climate change.
"They want the government to finally act and take effective action against climate change. The European elections have strengthened my conviction that this issue must not be put off for long," stressed the minister, adding that she "cannot justify losing any more time".
The German environment ministry had initiated a vote on its proposed climate protection law without the approval of the Chancellor's office, after sending the draft in February.
Schulze is proposing to regulate by law the necessary reductions in greenhouse gas emissions year-on-year in areas such as transport, industry or agriculture so that Germany can meet its 2030 climate protection target.
