New WBGU report: “Social cohesion strengthens security”
The WBGU, whose members include [tra:ce] Director Prof. Dr. Joscha Wullweber, recommends linking climate and social policy more closely in its new report.
On 24 September 2026, the German Scientific Advisory Board on Global Change (WBGU) published its sub-report ‘Social cohesion strengthens security’. It is the second chapter of the flagship report on security that the WBGU is currently preparing. As a member of the WBGU, [tra:ce] Director Prof. Dr Joscha Wullweber contributed to the sub-report.
The starting point of the report is a finding from acceptance research: people are more likely to support climate policy if they perceive the distribution of costs and benefits to be fair. Without this support, the state loses its capacity to act, including on security issues. The WBGU therefore recommends linking environmental and climate policy more closely with social policy. The transition to climate-friendly heating and climate-friendly mobility should also be feasible for low-income households, and the costs of the transition should be balanced out.
From the report's many recommendations, Joscha Wullweber highlights three fiscal levers. The first concerns government revenue. Here, the WBGU recommends reforming inheritance and gift tax and examining whether wealth tax should be reintroduced. According to Wullweber, in 2024 the state foregone 9 billion euros in tax on business assets. Of this, 3.4 billion euros went to just 45 individuals, each of whom inherited or received as a gift assets worth more than 26 million euros. He cites education as the second lever, which the WBGU wishes to secure permanently in the federal budget as an investment in the future. Funding for civic education and the promotion of democracy should be maintained. The third lever is local authorities. Where municipalities share in the revenue from wind farms and the money is channelled into nurseries, playgrounds and sports facilities, people are more likely to support further expansion. The WBGU therefore advises maintaining community energy cooperatives, enshrining participation measures in law and providing local authorities with better resources. Further recommendations include closer coordination between the ministries responsable for climate and social affairs departments, early and inclusive local participation formats at local level, and political communication that unites rather than divides.
On 30 September, the WBGU presented the findings in a webinar. A recording is available on the WBGU’s website.