Mitigation of the climate crisis can be married with social equity. Numerous and widely accepted concepts for a sound climate policy framework for Germany with a focus on private households combine climate protection and social cohesion, with net financial benefits for low-income households. Carbon pricing schemes give a striking example. They make carbon emissions more expensive and hence provide market-based steering effects towards a low-carbon economy. Although higher prices can burden consumers, the additional fiscal revenues generated through the carbon pricing can be used to pay a percapita climate bonus to all citizens. This percapita compensation would result in net benefits for the lower social strata, while preserving the envisioned ecological steering effects. Additionally, the government can reform other fiscal expenses, promote climate-friendly alternatives, and support supplementary social measures. Carbon pricing, as an element of a broad mix of instruments in climate policy, has been subject to intense scientific debate and is hence well-researched. A large body of scientific evidence suggests that carbon pricing can be socially balanced and is long overdue to tackle the climate crisis