Climate change skepticism has historically played a minor role in German political discourse. With the populist right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD), a political party has entered the German and European parliaments in recent years which openly questions the human contribution to climate change and the accuracy of established climate models in their manifesto. Despite this, little is known about how the AfD and its members communicate these views to the public. This study addresses this gap by analyzing the party’s climate change communication, focusing on its share of overall messaging compared to other parties, thematic focus, and forms of climate skepticism used. We use data from a manual quantitative content analysis of posts that were published by German parties and politicians during COP28 (N = 786) across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Our results show that the AfD regularly addresses climate change, with climate-related content accounting for a larger share compared to most other German parties. The findings also reveal that almost all posts express subtle climate skepticism, particularly through criticism of climate mitigation measures, while more fundamental skepticism, including denial of anthropogenic climate change, is rare. The study highlights the AfD’s unique role in the German climate debate and discusses potential implications for democratic decision-making and scientific consensus.

Lübke, S., Ozornina, N., Haßler, J., & Haim, M. (6/2025). The Rise of Climate Change Skepticism in Germany: Analyzing the Climate Communication of the Right-Wing Populist Party Alternative for Germany. Presented at the 75th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association, Denver, CO. (content_copy)