It is no surprise that there are political disagreements over climate protection measures. Parties differ in their assessments of which measures they consider effective, fair or economically acceptable. However, the question of whether climate change is mainly human-caused is not a matter of political preference but a well-documented scientific fact.
An international study involving researchers from the Cluster of Excellence "The Politics of Inequality" at the University of Konstanz now shows that agreement with this fact not only depends strongly on one's political orientation. The ideological divide among elected representatives is significantly wider than in the general population. On the political fringes, in particular, politicians' views diverge from those of their constituents. The work is published in the journal Communications Sustainability.
After analyzing statements by 714 elected representatives and more than 18,000 residents of eight countries, researchers concluded: "Politicians have significantly more polarized views on climate change. In concrete terms, this means that the difference between the positions of left- and right-wing representatives is almost three times greater than the difference between the views of left- and right-wing voters," explains Johannes Kotz, first author of the study and an academic staff member in the Department of Psychology at the University of Konstanz.
"Our results not only show that left- and right-wing representatives have different climate policy positions," adds Wolfgang Gaissmaier, professor of social psychology and a member of the Cluster of Excellence "The Politics of Inequality" at the University of Konstanz. "The differences begin with their assessments of the scientific basis. If even foundational facts are interpreted differently along political lines, this makes it more difficult to establish a shared basis for political decisions."
For this reason, the findings also raise questions about political representation. Elected representatives should know the interests and preferences of their constituents—and translate them into political decisions.
However, if positions on the political fringes are more extreme than those of their constituents, this creates a representation gap. "Views on climate change are not just abstract opinions that do not have political consequences. They are directly linked to whether one supports concrete measures," Kotz says. This is why it is particularly relevant that right-wing representatives are more skeptical of human-caused climate change than right-wing voters. This additional gap can make it more difficult to implement climate policy.
More information
Johannes Kotz et al, Ideological polarization on anthropogenic climate change is stronger among politicians than among citizens across eight countries, Communications Sustainability (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s44458-026-00113-y
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Citation: Political representatives found more polarized on climate change than their constituents (2026, July 16) retrieved 17 July 2026 from https://phys.org/news/2026-07-political-polarized-climate-constituents.html
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