Germans fear migration more than climate change, study finds

Europeans — especially Germans — are increasingly keen on curbing immigration and are less focused on climate change, according to a study by a Danish-based think tank.

Europe has seen a sharp rise in the share of people who say that reducing immigration should be a top government priority, according to a study published Wednesday. Germany is topping the list.

At the same time, there was less desire to prioritize fighting climate change in the same countries, according to the survey commissioned by the Denmark-based Alliance of Democracies Foundation think tank.

Nearly half of German respondents put focus on migration

Since 2022, an increasing number of Europeans say their government should prioritize “reducing immigration,” rising from just under 20% to a quarter.

Meanwhile, concern about climate change was on the slide across the continent.

“In 2024, for the first time, reducing immigration is a greater priority for most Europeans than fighting climate change,” the report said.

“Nowhere is this reversal more striking than in Germany, which now leads the world with the highest share of people who want their government to focus on reducing immigration — topping all other priorities — and now nearly twice as high as fighting climate change,” the report read.

DarkThoughts,

Propaganda works and people are stupid.

thejml,

It does. We really need positive propaganda. Dupe everyone into thinking that climate change is real, we have to do something now, doubling down on renewable and sustainable resources is required, etc. I’d love to brainwash everyone into believing that public education needs more funds and resources. Or that rivers and lakes shouldn’t be polluted.

Akasazh,
@Akasazh@feddit.nl avatar

They problem is that climate change makers people feel guilty all the time and afraid (true most likely) that they will feel the financial repercussions, and not the big corporations.

So blaming the other is an easy way to feel superior and deal with the uncertainty rage.

Wanderer,

In a lot of ways immigration is bad for Europe. Financially and from a crime point if view, there is far more propaganda making out these issues aren’t real.

DarkThoughts,

Found the elusive Lemmy-Nazi.

Wanderer,

Okay seeing as we are talking about propaganda. Lets remove that and just show me data.

Show me some data that immigration from Africa and the middle east are financial net contributes and that their crime rate is lower than the native population.

DarkThoughts,

And it immediately goes into the stereotypical sealioning.

Wanderer,

That’s absolutely not sealioning.

We are talking about propaganda so I asked for two points of simple data outside of propaganda, no more.

The problem is the people that try to make out all immigration is good are making a propaganda statement not a factual one. That’s why you had the issue asking for data because it goes against what you want to be true. You hid from the data.

DarkThoughts,

It is sealioning because we've been talking about this for literally years already. You're beating a dead horse by interjecting your dumbass Nazi talking points that I don't care about because I've had the "pleasure" of hearing them day after day after day for all those years, especially during the height of the refugee crisis. Just fuck off.

Wanderer,

Its not sealioning because the data coming out of the UK and Denmark broken down by country shows exactly what you are denying.

You just can’t except facts.

DarkThoughts,

Uh-huh.

Wanderer,

You’ve been brainwashed by propaganda and now even data coming out of governments won’t even change your mind. You need to step back and look at things fresh.

DarkThoughts,

Uh-huh.

FlyingSquid,
@FlyingSquid@lemmy.world avatar

Climate change is an existential threat. They can see those swarthy heathens filling their cities and stealing their jobs or whatever the fuck they think whenever they see someone of a darker skin tone than themselves.

Guess what’s going to exacerbate the migration issue, Germany?

avidamoeba,
@avidamoeba@lemmy.ca avatar

Wind turbans.

catloaf,

Bad news, Germany, because immigration is about to increase because of climate change.

Right-wing media has really done a number on critical thinking.

TransplantedSconie,

That’s because when right-wing politicians get into power, the first thing out the window is education and critical thinking. You can’t have a population that thinks too much because they’re harder to control.

CitizenKong,

“So long as they (the Proles) continued to work and breed, their other activities were without importance. Left to themselves, like cattle turned loose upon the plains of Argentina, they had reverted to a style of life that appeared to be natural to them, a sort of ancestral pattern…Heavy physical work, the care of home and children, petty quarrels with neighbors, films, football, beer and above all, gambling filled up the horizon of their minds. To keep them in control was not difficult.” George Orwell, 1984

rustydrd,
@rustydrd@sh.itjust.works avatar

From what I see, lots of people in Germany understand that some countries will be hit hard by climate change. The key issue is that they don’t care, and instead of stopping climate change their solution to this is to shut the borders and let no one in. These people are so resistant to changing their way of life, they’d happily trade people’s lives for it.

auzas_1337,

I don’t want this to be a low effort comment, but I just wanted to ask - where are you from? So maybe we can have a lil’ discussion.

iarigby,

deleted_by_author

    •
    rustydrd,
    @rustydrd@sh.itjust.works avatar

    Changing our way of life is required to limit climate change and the effects it will have globally and locally, not to accommodate immigrants. Your rant is misplaced, and I don’t agree with it either.

    iarigby,

    Ah, yes I completely misunderstood it, sorry

    Augustiner,

    People in western nations are largely responsible for climate change. Someone in Syria won’t be flying around the world and buying new clothes all the time. But they will be the ones hit the hardest by climate change, so they will likely either die or become refugees trying to come to the west.

    Also, a lot of our western wealth is based on exploitation of those nations (through colonialism and later capitalism or wars). So if westerners don’t want people from poor countries to come to the west they should help those nations to recover from that exploitation.

    Furthermore we need to do these things, because a bigger influx of desperate migrants will steer western politics even further to the right. That’s never a great thing and will lead to more inequality and possibly the collapse of our democratic systems.

    Finally to your point about migrants being more criminal. That is largely a result of worse economic circumstances and outlooks. Improve their chances and watch the crime rate drop.

    illi,

    Worst thing is they are fucking it up for their kids and/or grandkids who will be forced to change their way of life because of the hellscape they’ll inherit

    kromem,

    Right-wing media has really done a number on critical thinking.

    Correlation is not cause and effect.

    It’s more likely that the lack of critical thinking was there in the first place and served as the soil for right wing media to sink its roots into.

    kaffiene,

    Fear is a fantastic motivator and reactionary politicians prove that time and time again

    leds,

    Some explain these people that climate chance is going to cause a lot more migration if not addressed

    Vub,

    Everyone tries but they are not listening because they claim that everything from the science are lies (climate change, vaccines etc). They will never change and the level of education and ability to think logically and objective is close to zero. The right wing parties boost this because they know they are their path to power.

    gregorum,

    climate change doesn’t have dark skin or speak a different language…

    DarkThoughts,

    Until hundreds of thousands of climate refugees from around the equator start to show up...

    nondescripthandle,

    The average human will blame immigration for that as if immigration is a self contained problem and has nothing to do with the conditions they themselves are creating in other countries.

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