Climate anxiety, anger and hope – emotions in sustainable consumption
Invitation to the Forum on Sustainable Consumption
Climate change, biodiversity loss and other ecological crises trigger strong emotional responses – ranging from climate anxiety and feelings of being overwhelmed to empathy, hope and a sense of responsibility. At the same time, everyday consumption is driven by additional motives such as the desire to belong, to enjoy oneself, to express status or to seek experiences. This creates a tension that often makes consumption decisions complex and contradictory, giving rise to emotions such as guilt, shame or denial, but also to feelings of self-efficacy, joy and hope.
We cordially invite you to explore these emotional dynamics together at the Forum on Sustainable Consumption, taking place online on Thursday, 26 February 2026, from 9:30 to 13:15. The event will focus on how emotions emerge in the context of sustainable consumption, how they actually influence consumer behaviour, and how emotional energies can be transformed into a productive, democratic and caring capacity for action.
The programme will open with a keynote by Katharina van Bronswijk, psychotherapist and spokesperson for Psychologists and Psychotherapists for Future, who will shed light on the emotional interconnections between sustainability and consumption. This will be followed by an interactive BarCamp with breakout sessions, providing space for in-depth discussions, personal reflection and the exchange of different perspectives.
You can register for the event here. The Forum on Sustainable Consumption is organised by ConPolicy – Institute for Consumer Policy and co2online on behalf of the German Environment Agency (UBA).
New publication for the German Environment Agency
What prevents young people from getting involved in environmental and climate protection?
Why do some young people show little or no engagement in environmental and climate protection? How large is the proportion of unengaged young people in Germany, and has this changed over recent years? These and other questions were addressed in the first work package of the project 'Strengthening Youth Engagement for Sustainability through Dialogue and Transformative Learning' which ConPolicy carried out together with several project partners on behalf of the German Environment Agency and the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety.
Following the publication of a partial report on the results of the first work package in May 2025, the second partial report is now available. It focuses in particular on developments between 2021 and 2023. The findings of the second partial report are based primarily on a secondary data analysis of selected data from the youth study ‘Zukunft? Jugend fragen! – 2023’ in comparison with corresponding survey results from the 2021 study. The analysis reveals that the proportion of young people who have not yet been involved in sustainability issues has risen significantly over the comparison period. In addition, this group of young people tends to be even more difficult to reach with environmental, climate protection, and ecological sustainability issues than before.
The subsequent qualitative interviews with the target group complement the quantitative findings and provide deeper insights into the mindset and lifestyle as well as the heterogeneity of this group. The segmentation derived from this shows that different communication and participation strategies are needed to address these young people in a needs-oriented way on environmental, climate protection, and sustainability issues.
The full report can be found here. More information about the project can be found here.
New Publication for the German Environment Agency
Germans donate comparatively little to environmental causes
Despite their high societal relevance, donations for nature, environmental and climate protection account for only 3.3 percent of total donations in Germany. Overall, Germans donate just 0.39 percent of their income, placing Germany second to last in an international comparison. These are some of the findings of a study on donation volumes and giving behavior in the fields of nature, environmental and climate protection, conducted by ConPolicy on behalf of the German Environment Agency. Methodologically, the study was based on a literature review, secondary data analysis, and focus groups.
Donations offer private individuals an opportunity to personally contribute to climate, environmental, and nature protection. Whether people make financial contributions depends strongly on the importance they attach to environmental and climate protection. Their age and level of education also play a significant role. In addition, a pronounced intention–behaviour gap can be observed: younger and highly educated individuals often express a stronger willingness to engage but are less likely to do so in practice. Carbon offsetting is used even less frequently than traditional donations overall, with individual flight frequency and the degree of urbanization of the living environment being key influencing factors.
Giving behavior differs in terms of motives, expectations, and patterns. While experienced donors tend to look for transparency, proven impact and long-term leverage effects, less experienced donors are more likely to donate spontaneously or on specific occasions. Barriers to donating arise primarily from a lack of transparency, fundraising perceived as overly aggressive, and uncertainties regarding the actual effectiveness of projects. This effectiveness is often difficult to measure, as many projects have indirect impacts. Overall, donations for nature, environmental and climate protection in Germany fall short of their potential.
All results in detail can be found here. Further information on the project is available here.
Recommended reading
Nielsen et al. (2026)
Perceived plasticity of climate-relevant behaviors and policy support among high- and lower-income individuals
The extent to which people are willing to change their behavior to protect the climate depends heavily on their income and country of origin. An…
Read more
News about ConPolicy
Recommended reading
Upcoming events
