Indeed, the poll of more than 7,000 people across England, Scotland, and Wales found that 74% believe climate policies will cost them money, rather than help them save it.
Furthermore, the proportion who think that net zero will be good for the UK has fallen from 62% last year to 48% today, with 16% believing it will be bad for the country.
This means that three times as many people still hold positive views, yet the findings highlight growing mistrust of politicians, along with fears about costs, and an increasingly organised and vocal opposition.
However, almost all respondents expressed pride in environmental efforts such as tree planting, national park protection, and recycling, with 74% saying climate change is important, and only 4% not believing it to be real.
Interestingly, the majority believe they’re in the minority. Most people support action but assume others don’t, with the respondents underestimating other people’s climate change worries by 20%.
The research from Climate Outreach reveals a “quiet sense of pride across the country that we are building the clean industries of the future,” said CEO Rachael Orr. “Many people feel genuine excitement about climate policy when it’s seen as an investment in something tangible which benefits their homes, communities and our natural world,” she continued.
“At the same time, there remains a deep disillusionment in politics and politicians. People struggle to believe that policies will lead to real progress or genuinely improve their lives, and many worry they’ll be left to shoulder the financial burden.”
The findings also show that 81% of respondents agree with the statement that “being in nature makes me very happy”, while 89% are comfortable with rooftop solar panels, viewing them as common-sense policies that can lower bills and address climate change.
Similar views are held by those intending to vote Conservative or Reform, of which 74% either like or don’t mind seeing wind turbines in the countryside.
Furthermore, 86% of all respondents think it’s important that climate action should also protect nature and wildlife, and 71% emphasise safeguarding young people’s futures. In Scotland, more people take pride in the offshore wind industry than in North Sea oil and gas.
Despite this, the researchers conclude that climate change has an image problem, and have published a communications toolkit on how to talk about different issues, including net zero and climate adaptation.
Speaking at a Transform event last year, Orr said: “Politicians can still be quite nervous or sceptical that climate has such broad support, and we need to keep reinforcing that to them.
“There will be some loud voices who are climate sceptics, but they are very small in number, and we need to drown out those voices and remind politicians that their voters want ambition and clarity, and that this is a collective endeavour. I don’t actually think that climate advocates and campaigners have been very good at telling that story.”
Image credit: Shutterstock
Graphic credit: Climate Outreach
Chris Seekings is the Deputy Editor of ISEP’s Transform magazine, which is published biomonthly for ISEP members. Chris’s role involves writing sustainability-related news, features and interviews, as well as helping to plan and manage the magazine’s other day-to-day activities.
