Citizens' Campus: Conspiracy beliefs in the context of the energy transition

The energy transition is favored by large sections of the scientific community and politicians as a suitable response to the threats posed by the climate crisis. However, the energy transition is controversial among the population. Although the majority of citizens support the increased use of renewable energies, there are also larger groups in the population that reject it. There are various reasons for this: Some doubt that climate change is man-made, others believe that an energy system based solely on renewables is not technically feasible. Still others criticize the socially unbalanced burden placed on citizens by the costs of the energy transition. Finally, there are also people who believe that the energy transition is a conspiracy by which influential political circles are trying to push through their interests. The presentation will outline the characteristics of these people, their political views, whether they actively oppose the energy transition, which actors they trust or distrust, and which media they use for information. Finally, the consequences of these attitudes for the implementation of the energy transition will be discussed and how science and politics can and should react to these conspiracy ideas.

Prof. Dr. Jens Wolling is Head of the Group of Empirical Media Research and Political Communication at the Department of Economic Science and Media at TU Ilmenau.

Admission: 5 Euro