A new study on public perceptions of climate action finds that while support for low-carbon lifestyles is strong, inaction is limiting the public’s belief that a low-carbon future is possible.
New research by the Centre for Climate Change and Social Change finds that political and media arguments justifying insufficient climate change mitigation efforts – the so-called “discourse of delay” – have a significant impact on public perceptions in the UK.
Dr Katherine Cherry, from Cardiff University’s School of Psychology and the Centre for Climate Change and Social Change, said: “As global temperatures continue to rise, keeping warming to 1.5°C is a huge challenge and will require complete transformation across all sectors of society. We urgently need to find new ways of living.”
“Arguments seeking to delay climate action and justify insufficient mitigation efforts, often referred to as the ‘discourse of delay’, are widespread in political and media debates on climate change.”
“Overconfidence”
The researchers set out to engage with members of the public in Manchester, Aberdeen and the south-west of England between December 2020 and January 2021 to understand public perceptions of climate action.
The survey found that the public is currently overconfident in their current actions, influenced by years of environmental messaging, giving themselves a false sense of security by believing that small individual actions are enough.
The study also found that people are defensive about more radical changes, such as eating less meat or flying less, and that concerns about personal freedom and fairness lead them to oppose even the most radical lifestyle changes.
There was also a sense of hopelessness, convincing people that meaningful change was impossible.
Dr Cherry added: “Despite strong public support for many low-carbon lifestyle strategies, we find that delays and inaction are limiting belief that a just low-carbon future is possible.”
“We argue that countering these narratives and the defensive responses they evoke is essential to achieving meaningful public action on climate change.”
Researchers are calling for new approaches to public engagement that go beyond simply providing information.
“We propose to engage the public in co-creating a positive and just vision of a sustainable future through a deliberative process such as a citizens’ assembly. This could help build public support for climate policies, foster a sense of climate citizenship and weaken arguments for delay.”
“This study and others like it are crucial in an ever-changing and fast-moving media and political landscape. We need to understand public opinion on the crucial topic of a sustainable future, which becomes particularly complex during election and political campaign periods.”
“By understanding how the ‘discourse of delay’ influences public investment in a more sustainable future, we can focus messages from political and media debates to encourage everyone, from politicians to the general public, to invest in climate action,” Dr Cherry added.
research, Rhetoric against climate action weakens public support for a 1.5°C lifestyleteeth, Changes in the global environment.
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