Transparent Climate Footprints – Information for Climate-Friendly Action

Background Paper Forum Climate Economics 8

The implementation of an ambitious climate policy essentially depends on the provision of a compre­hensive information base. According to the argumentation of this paper, information is indis­pen­sable for successful climate policy in two respects: It is required if the potential for reducing emissions is to be identified, the right choice between climate policy instruments is to be made and the behavior of people is to be understood. And it plays a central role if citizens and investors are to be empowered to make decisions about climate protection themselves and to get involved through their commitment. It is the task of politics to ensure that this data is made available by the company and made available in a standardized and thus comparable manner through an information infrastructure. Current research contributions in the field of energy savings in households show, however, that the provision of detailed information does not lead to unreserved positive welfare effects. It is therefore advisable to include context-specific information and factors such as household groups considered or regional characteristics more closely in the evaluation of informational instruments.

This background paper is only available in German.