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  • Overview
  • Oct '24
    Growing calls for a ‘climate resilient net zero’
  • New study addresses impact of climate protest images on audiences
  • New study addresses global awareness of climate justice
  • Cumbria coal mine cancelled
  • MP polling: Is this the greenest parliament ever?
  • New study: Political leaders’ actions can inspire behavioural change
  • Sep '24
    Polling: Building familiarity with EVs necessary to overcome misconceptions
  • Almost half of Britons have personally experienced heat waves
  • Has support for net zero risen or fallen since the election?
  • Aug '24
    Labour’s energy policies are popular, but concerns around energy costs are growing again
  • Is ‘climate crisis’ a more effective term than ‘climate change’?
  • Jul '24
    Labour’s plans for Great British Energy brought to parliament
  • Tracker data: Renewables better for energy security than fossil fuels
  • The public feel ‘worried’, ‘sad’, and ‘no emotions’ about climate change
  • Post-election polling shows ‘backtracking’ on net zero targets cost the Conservatives votes
  • New Labour government announces planning reforms to increase onshore wind development
  • What do MPs need to know about voters’ views on climate?
  • New Labour government elected
  • Majority of public feel accepting of local pylons
  • Tracker data: Narratives that cut through
  • Research paper: Low carbon lifestyles are supported, but are impacted by ‘narratives of delay’
  • MPs and the public underestimate public support for pylons
  • Ipsos: Most net zero policies have more support than opposition (but support for some has fallen)
  • Why better insights on ethnicity are important for climate communication
  • Jun '24
    Major global study: Four out of five want governments to strengthen climate action
  • General Election 2024: Scottish views on the North Sea transition
  • Conservative Environment Network: Polling shows climate change is not salient for Reform voters
  • Carbon Brief: General Election 2024 energy & climate manifesto tracker
  • Trust & influence: Beyond ‘trusted messengers’
  • May '24
    General Election 2024: Will culture wars win votes?
  • Tony Blair Institute survey on perceptions of net zero
  • Tracker data: How is support for phasing out petrol and diesel vehicles changing?
  • Tracker data: The public blames government and the energy system (not green initiatives) for high bills
  • Tracker data: Public dissatisfaction with politicians’ handling of climate
  • Tracker data: Majority of public think climate inaction will cost too much
  • Ipsos global data shows elevated climate ‘apathy’ among younger men
  • Apr '24
    Scotland drops 2030 emissions target but retains 2045 net zero ambition
  • Tracker data: the public is split on whether climate campaigners are ‘out of touch’
  • Tracker data: What climate impacts are the public concerned about?
  • Comment: Reform voters and net zero
  • Reform voters and net zero
  • Research paper: Engaging concerned but distrustful audiences on reducing meat & dairy
  • Europe Talks Flying: Navigating public opinion on aviation and climate
  • Green Alliance policy tracker: March 2024 update
  • Research paper: Climate concern increases following major protests/civil disobedience
  • Mar '24
    What the public misunderstands about heat pumps
  • Grantham Institute survey: What benefits do people think climate policies will bring?
  • What are perception gaps and why do they matter?
  • Climate action dashboard: Trends in public opinion 2020-2023
  • Spring Budget 2024: A small number of ‘green-tinged’ measures
  • Feb '24
    Video: People want climate action so why don’t politicians get it?
  • Survey: Three quarters of the public are worried about the impact of climate change on their bills
  • Redfield & Wilton polling: Labour & Conservative voters think climate change not being taken seriously enough
  • ECIU polling: more voters had heard about Labour’s green investment ‘U-turn’ than the policy itself
  • Voters want political leadership on climate change
  • Global study shows climate perception gaps are prevalent around the world
  • YouGov polling: Labour voters see government U-turns as a bad sign
  • Jan '24
    Tracker data: The youngest and the poorest are most worried about climate and wellbeing
  • Comment: Why should we care about climate emotions?
  • Survey: Knowing someone with a heat pump increases support
  • Differences in support for oil and gas track political divides
  • Report finds a rise in ‘new denial’ narratives on Youtube and a third of UK teenagers agreeing that climate change is exaggerated
  • Carbon Brief analysis shows record opposition to climate action by right-leaning UK newspapers in 2023
  • Research paper: Reducing inequality makes behaviour change for net zero more achievable
  • Dec '23
    Legal challenge launched against Rosebank North Sea oil field
  • COP28 calls for “transition away from fossil fuels”. Does the UK public agree?
  • CAAD report: A rise in violent language used online to describe protesters in 2023
  • Nov '23
    Tracker data: Nearly half of British public support climate compensation
  • Tracker data: Public oppose fracking, but it continues to polarise MPs
  • Comment: Is ‘behaviour change’ a contentious topic or an essential part of net zero?
  • Tracker data: What actions are the public and MPs taking to address climate change?
  • Tracker data: MP and public views on energy sources
  • Tracker data: Low levels of trust in political parties to speak about climate change
  • Tracker data: Who is trusted to speak honestly about climate change?
  • Making sense of public opinion on climate impacts
  • National Trust report: A Resilience Bill could put adaptation on the same footing as mitigation
  • Understanding perceptions of political leadership on climate change
  • Desmog publishes analysis of ‘anti-green’ Telegraph commentary on net zero
  • Comment: Are international climate negotiations on the public’s radar?
  • Carbon Brief analysis of the language used in the autumn statement shows change climate given a low priority
  • Tracker data: MPs and the public support high ambition on climate
  • Tracker data: MPs and public support climate finance to vulnerable countries
  • Making sense of public and MP opinion on renewables
  • Autumn Statement: Discounts on energy bills to be provided to households living near new electricity transmission infrastructure
  • Tracker data: Favourability towards wind and solar among MPs and the public
  • Making sense of public opinion on oil and gas
  • Tracker data: The public and MPs overestimate opposition to local solar
  • Carbon Brief resource: Who wants what at the COP28 climate change summit?
  • Making sense of public opinion on clean air zones
  • Tracker data: Public and MPs believe in the effectiveness of working together to tackle climate crisis
  • Tracker data: Public support for low traffic neighbourhoods is higher than MPs’
  • Reuters Institute report: UK audiences prefer climate coverage focused on ‘solutions’
  • Ipsos MORI polling ahead of COP28 shows limited public confidence that conference commitments will lead to climate action
  • Comment: Climate vs the cost of living?
  • Comment: Bumps on the road to net zero in 2023
  • ACT Climate Labs: How to talk to ‘Persuadables’ about transport
  • Tracker data: No signs of polarisation around the 2050 net zero target
  • Tracker data: Who is to blame for the high cost of energy bills?
  • Tracker data: Public and MPs underestimate net zero support
  • Conservative Environment Network polling: Widespread support for local green energy development
  • Tracker data: Public support for new local pylons
  • Comment: How does the public perceive climate protesters?
  • Oct '23
    More in Common: Labour can increase support among key Red Wall ‘Loyal Nationals’ by focusing on green investment
  • Public First polling: Delays to net zero make a party less electable
  • Tracker data: Majority of the public support a tax on frequent flyers
  • Tracker data: Do MPs see Net Zero as a vote winner or loser in Red and Blue Wall seats?
  • Making sense of differences between the public and MP opinions on oil and gas
  • What explains the drop in Welsh support for 20mph speed limits, shortly after their introduction?
  • MPs continue to underestimate importance of the environment for voters
  • Climate Citizens report: MPs underestimate the importance of the environment for voters
  • Conservatives urged to reconsider anti net zero strategy after Tamworth & Mid Bedfordshire by-elections
  • Comment: Net Zero in My Back Yard
  • Making sense of UK polarisation on climate change
  • Comment: What do the Tamworth and Mid Bedfordshire by-elections tell us about support for climate policies?
  • Communities near wind farms will receive £300 incentive
  • Tracker data: Public and MPs see climate action as best route to energy independence
  • Tracker data: Most believe they can make a difference on climate, but over a third don’t
  • Tracker data: MP and public opinion on government climate action
  • National Infrastructure Commission recommends low income households should be given free heat pumps
  • Map of ‘action based’ stories aims to offer hope through seeing others acting
  • Scrapping, banning or delaying? Why question wording matters for understanding opinion on net zero
  • Climate Change Committee: Net zero targets are harder to achieve after changes to policies
  • Climate change in TV and Film
  • Climate Change Committee: How behaviour change can become part of UK climate policies
  • Polling during Labour Party conference: There is support for removing fossil fuels from electricity generation by 2030
  • New research: What personal climate actions are British people of colour undertaking?
  • Report: How people of colour experience climate change in Britain
  • Public First: UK public backs a move towards energy independence.
  • Tracker data: Gap in perceived support for local wind and solar
  • Sep '23
    Tracker data: Most people agree it will cost too much ‘not to tackle’ climate change
  • Friends of the Earth release a map of fossil fuel extraction sites around the country
  • Onward league table shows which net zero policies are popular among voters
  • Onward polling: Voters rank green policies as the least likely reason for cost of living crisis
  • Onward research: How to build support for net zero policies among Conservative voters
  • Labour Party confirms plans for GB Energy ahead of 2023 conference
  • Rosebank oil field given go-ahead by regulators
  • YouGov: There is a generational divide in support for more oil and gas extraction
  • Greenpeace polling: Climate will influence the next election in Blue Wall constituencies
  • Public First: Sunak’s Net Zero speech may scarcely cut through to voters
  • Ipsos polling: Renewable energy infrastructure is a priority for Britons
  • Anger Monitor research: ‘constructive’ anger can motivate climate action
  • Greenpeace polling: Blue Wall constituents want subsidies for net zero policies (and will vote on climate)
  • More in Common: Most voters think the government is doing too little on climate
  • ECIU poll: net zero policy rollback viewed as ‘untrustworthy’ by most; ‘sensible’ by some
  • Support for a loophole-free windfall tax on the profits of oil and gas companies sits at nearly 90%
  • More in Common polling: Few Britons want the government to do less to reach net zero
  • Rishi Sunak announces delays to near-term net zero targets
  • Social Change Lab: Does radical action shift the perception of more moderate activists?
  • More in Common: Oil & gas are no longer seen as reliable energy sources
  • Sizewell C campaigners hail appeal court victory
  • Comment: Polling makes misleading claims about support for clean air zones and net zero
  • Is there a split between ‘motorists’ and ‘non motorists’ on transport policies?
  • Climate Change Committee: How to help the UK public prepare for climate impacts
  • Do people think net zero will be expensive, or can the costs fall fairly?
  • Opinium polling: A third of young people seek counselling and medical help for eco-anxiety
  • Climate Citizens report: Sustaining the political mandate for climate action
  • Summer 2023 was the hottest on record globally
  • Aug '23
    Resources for working with climate emotions
  • Valent report: Evidence of online manipulation in the debate around ULEZ expansion
  • Understanding opinion on 15-minute neighbourhoods
  • Progressive Policy Institute report: working class voters’ views on climate policies
  • Ipsos polling: Voters have an appetite for helping the environment alongside concerns about affordability
  • Conservative Party members oppose LTNs and the phase out of petrol/diesel cars
  • Jul '23
    Desmog polling: Voters tend to support ULEZ-style policies, when it is made clear only a minority of vehicles are affected
  • More in Common research: voters outside of London were not paying close attention to the extension of ULEZ
  • International comparison: UK support for net zero policies
  • YouGov poll shows support outweighs opposition for lowering urban speed limits from 30 to 20mph
  • Onward report: Local benefits increase rural support for renewable energy projects
  • Jun '23
    ACT Climate Labs guide: How to rebut ‘what about China and India’ arguments
  • Climate Change Committee: How the government can show leadership on climate change
  • May '23
    SNP voters back a ‘rapid’ move away from oil and gas – but are more evenly split on new exploration
  • Research paper: Climate-induced migration is not a route to greater climate concern
  • YouGov tracker: Public consistently in favour of government subsidies for solar development
  • Public Order Act 2023 introduces harsher protest laws
  • Apr '23
    Tracker data: Gender divide in MPs’ beliefs about cost of climate impacts
  • Tracker data: Some public willingness to pay extra climate tax
  • More in Common: Britain’s ‘quiet majority’ want less talk and more action on green energy
  • Mar '23
    OFFSHORE documentary explores what the energy transition means for workers and communities around the North Sea
  • Most Britons want their area to become a 15 minute neighbourhood
  • Platform report: The needs of offshore workers for a just energy transition
  • Jan '23
    Guide: How to better communicate about heat risks
  • Dec '22
    Understanding support for the frequent flyer levy
  • ECIU report: What is the cost of ‘Not Zero’?
  • Video clip testing: Voters are more likely to support Labour when they hear them talking about climate change
  • Red Cross polling: UK public unaware of flood risks and what actions to take
  • Nov '22
    Ahead of COP27, UK public sceptical that the conference would speed up climate action
  • COP27 polling: Few see Rishi Sunak as showing leadership, but most support climate funds for poorer nations
  • Ipsos MORI polling: Britons want subsidies on environmentally friendly tech (but few want higher taxes on non-renewable energy sources)
  • Oct '22
    Climate Majority project seeks to take climate action ‘outside of the bubble’
  • Research paper: Media portrayal of heatwaves undermines the seriousness of heat risks
  • YouGov tracker: Wind power continues to be the most popular form of energy generation
  • Climate anxiety around the world
  • Message testing guide: How to talk about the cost of living and climate crises at the same time
  • Sep '22
    Briefing paper: The road to net zero – UK public preferences for low-carbon lifestyles
  • More in Common research shows how to engage ‘Blue Wall pragmatists’ on climate change
  • Aug '22
    ACT Climate Labs: How to combat misinformation around extreme weather
  • Jul '22
    New research paper: politicians and activists ‘speak a different language’ on climate change
  • UK experiences temperatures above 40°C for the first time
  • IPPR narrative testing: Messages about impacts are one of the most persuasive arguments for action on climate change
  • Carbon Brief: How UK newspapers changed their minds about climate change
  • Jun '22
    Mapping worry about climate change
  • May '22
    COP26: What the public heard
  • Feb '22
    Climate Change Committee: New oil and gas fields in the North Sea will create only marginal savings for households
  • Jan '22
    Climate Emotions Wheel shows the range of climate emotions
  • Dec '21
    Research paper: Emotions as drivers of climate change opinions and actions
  • Nov '21
    Media analysis: News of protests at COP26 outstripped coverage of the conference itself
  • Ahead of COP26, Loyal Nationals express scepticism around around international cooperation
  • Oct '21
    UK government hosts the annual UN climate Conference of the Parties (COP26)
  • Global Scan polling: Most Britons want global leadership by the government on climate
  • Development Engagement Lab: Britons have greater awareness of COP26 than other countries
  • Climate Just map: Climate vulnerability in the UK
  • Government’s Net Zero strategy includes new oil & gas licensing
  • Sep '21
    Climate Outreach report: Loyal Nationals see climate change as a shared global responsibility
  • Jun '21
    Britain Talks Climate – which segments are engaging in behaviour change?
  • Research paper: High carbon lifestyles can undermine climate messaging
  • Green Alliance: The case for clean air zones
  • Jan '21
    Climate Outreach resource: Lifestyle change & system change are two sides of the same coin
  • Dec '20
    UN Environment Programme report: the importance of lifestyle change for closing the ’emissions gap’
  • Oct '20
    Britain Talks Climate: Most people are unsure which party has best climate policies
  • Britain Talks Climate: climate change concerns us all, regardless of income, background or politics
  • Research paper: Feeling empowered and able to make a difference is key to engagement on adaptation
  • CAST data portal: support for lifestyle change in the UK (vs Brazil, China & Sweden)
  • Mar '20
    Guide: Engaging the public on climate impacts and adaptation
  • Cardiff University polling: concern about heat risks has increased over the past decade but floods still top the risk table
  • Jan '20
    Environment Agency report: Low income households at greatest risk from flooding
  • Nov '19
    Report: Vulnerable people don’t feel they are at risk from heat
  • Sep '19
    Climate Strike: 200 protest events in UK’s biggest environmental protest to-date
  • Aug '19
    Reuters: How Greta Thunberg’s climate strikes became a global movement in a year
  • May '19
    Poll reveals MP misperceptions over onshore wind
  • Nov '18
    ‘One thousand ways to experience loss’
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    Policy Insight 24th October 2024

    Growing calls for a ‘climate resilient net zero’

    In the face of rising climate impacts, UK-based researchers are calling for more measures that simultaneously tackle the root causes of climate change, while enabling society to adapt.

    Efforts to tackle climate change have tended to prioritise mitigation (reducing emissions) over adaptation efforts (reducing vulnerabilities), and these two broad types of measures are often split across government departments, such as Defra and DESNZ in the UK. 

    But new research, using the UK’s record-breaking 40C heatwave in 2022 as a case study, has found clear demands for national and local governments to roll out measures that combine mitigation and adaptation.

    Policy-makers, climate organisations, and those working in emergency response felt that approaches – such as creating climate-resilient neighbourhoods, tree-planting and other nature-based solutions – should be a priority, given their dual benefits. They felt efforts to combine emissions reductions and adaptation have challenges, but were feasible, with better coordination.

    The new analysis also suggests that framing these efforts as part of working towards a ‘climate resilient net zero’ can be a useful way of engaging a range of relevant audiences and decision-makers – building on existing support for net zero.

    The study findings are supported by Climate Barometer tracker insights, which shows that both the public and MPs feel mitigation and adaptation are equally important. It also echoes previous work which found that the public view mitigation and adaptation as “two sides of the same coin”.

    • Source: Grantham Research Institute on climate change and the environment
    • Authors: Candice Howarth, Niall McLoughlin, Ellie Murtagh, Andrew P. Kythreotis, James Porter
    • Date: 21st October 2024
    Media Insight 23rd October 2024

    New study addresses impact of climate protest images on audiences

    What impact do visual representations of climate protesters in the media have on audiences? A new study has addressed this in light of the recent media trend towards depicting more young and female protesters in news stories.

    By comparing audience responses to 10 different images (photo-edited to make comparisons in the study), the researchers found that images showing climate protestors and the police together, as well as images of younger protestors, tended to lead to more negative emotional responses amongst audiences. This included feelings of guilt and shame about climate impacts affecting future generations.

    The content of the protest images did not deeply influence audiences’ broader climate attitudes and behaviours after viewing them. But the researchers did find that feelings towards protest images were influenced by a range of factors, such as the audiences’ gender, and suggest that the viewers’ worldview may play a role too.

    • Authors: Yu Shuang Gan, Sylvia Hayes, Lorraine Whitmarsh
    • Date: 9th October 2024
    Opinion Insight 23rd October 2024

    New study addresses global awareness of climate justice

    A new survey has found that two-thirds of people around the globe have not heard of the term ‘climate justice’, and less than 1-in-5 feel they have a good understanding of what it means. But despite a lack of awareness about the terminology, a clear majority (70%) felt that climate change is driven by capitalism and colonisation. The study by Charles Ogunbode and colleagues builds on previous work addressing engagement with climate justice, by suggesting that people are aware of the key issues underpinning climate justice, even if they don’t consciously link these with the concept. People’s beliefs about climate justice-related issues were also found to positively influence their climate actions and support for policies – suggesting there is much value in building greater awareness.

    • Source: Nature
    • Author: Charles A. Ogunbode et al.
    • Date: 18th October 2024
    Policy Insight 15th October 2024

    Cumbria coal mine cancelled

    In a reversal of the government’s decision to grant planning permission for a new coal mine near Whitehaven in Cumbria, the High Court ruled that the greenhouse gas emissions of the coal to be burned at the mine had not been taken into account when the decision had been made.

    Instead, and echoing the claims of ‘net zero’ airports which don’t include the emissions from flights, consideration had only been given to the emissions released in building and operating the facility.

    The High court decision came during the same month that the last of the UK’s coal-fired power stations was closed.

    Opinion Insight 7th October 2024

    New study: Political leaders’ actions can inspire behavioural change

    New research has revealed that politicians visibly ‘leading by example’ can substantially increase the willingness of members of the UK public to adopt further low-carbon lifestyle changes.

    The study looked at over a thousand people’s responses to the examples of  ‘high-profile individuals’ in a nationally representative survey. It found that the vast majority (86%) wanted to see politicians, celebrities and business leaders setting a good example in terms of their climate actions. Citizens were also more willing to adopt low-carbon actions, such as flying less, eating less meat, or driving an electric car if they saw leaders doing the same. At the same time, people’s overall approval of leaders who were setting a strong example improved.

    Despite this, further investigation showed that politicians may currently be reluctant to publicise their personal climate-friendly actions due to fear of criticism for virtue signaling, or hypocrisy.

    Together the work suggests that rather than pulling off ‘green stunts’, politicians’ consistency of action over time is crucial, and it can also be beneficial if they acknowledge that some changes may be too difficult or costly for everyone to make (such as buying an electric car or installing a heat pump).

    Opinion Insight 23rd September 2024

    Polling: Building familiarity with EVs necessary to overcome misconceptions

    Public support for climate policies – from heat pumps, to home insulation, to electric vehicles – has always been about a lot more than just having access to the right facts.

    Someone might like the sound of an EV, but not (yet) be able to afford it. Plenty of people have heard scare stories about heat pumps (although the views of people who actually know someone who has had one installed, tend to be more positive).

    But a number of recent polls – from ECIU and Climate Barometer’s tracker – shine a light on the importance of building familiarity with EVs, because misconceptions abound.

    For example, ECIU polling found that more than 5 in 10 (54%) petrol car drivers think EV drivers run out of charge at least once a year but, in reality, more than 8 in 10 (82%) of EV drivers report never running out of charge.

    This is a significant misperception sitting behind the ‘range anxiety’ sometimes cited as a reason not to switch to an EV.

    Climate Barometer polling tested a range of ‘anti-net zero’ narratives and soundbites, and found very few of them currently have any cut through with the public. But there was one exception: 40% of people say they don’t think EVs are more environmentally friendly than cars (when in fact they are). 

    And this wasn’t the only misconception about EVs. 

    When people were reminded that only new vehicles (not second hand ones) will be phased out after 2030, there was a 9% increase in people saying that the phase out would not affect them at all.

    Support for the phasing out of petrol and diesel cars was higher (+5%), and opposition is lower (-6%) when people were reminded that it is only new vehicle sales which must be zero emissions by 2030 (39% support, 38% oppose), compared to support without the prompt about second-hand vehicles (34% support, 44% oppose).

    This is a statistically significant difference.

    Climate Barometer Tracker 18th September 2024

    Almost half of Britons have personally experienced heat waves

    When asked about their personal experiences of climate impacts, large proportions of the public have experienced heat waves, extreme heat, storms, and flooding. Of these, heat is the most commonly experienced climate impact, with almost half of Britons surveyed saying they had personally experienced it.

    Only 28% of people surveyed in the Climate Barometer Tracker in April 2024 said that they ‘have never experienced any of these climate events’.

    Opinion Insight 19th August 2024

    Is ‘climate crisis’ a more effective term than ‘climate change’?

    What’s in a name? The question of what the best – most persuasive, or least polarising – term for climate change is, has a long history.

    On the one hand, small tweaks to individual words or short phrases are unlikely to be driving big differences in perceptions one way or another. People’s values, worldviews, political ideology and increasingly the perceived fairness of different climate policies, are what drives public engagement.

    But whether its the editorial choices made by leading international newspapers, to the framing of campaigns that drive media coverage of climate activism, linguistic choices do carry some weight. Previous research has argued that some terms (e.g. ‘global warming’) are more emotive; campaigners have criticised ‘climate change’ as a term for lacking urgency.

    In a new open-access paper, researchers tested a wide range of different terms, including ‘climate change’, ‘global warming’, ‘climate crisis’, climate emergency’ and ‘climate justice’, in a survey of over 5000 US residents and concluded:

    Overall, “climate change” and “global warming” were rated as most familiar and most concerning, and “climate justice” the least, with ratings for “climate crisis” and “climate emergency” falling in between.

    Moreover, we find no evidence for “climate crisis” or “climate emergency” eliciting more perceived urgency than “climate change” or “global warming.”

    We therefore recommend sticking with familiar terms, conclude that changing terminology is likely not the key solution for promoting climate action, and suggest alternative communication strategies.

    The ‘alternative communication strategies’ might include identifying tangible ways in which audiences with different moral and political values could benefit from specific climate policies, or ensuring communities impacted by new energy infrastructure, or changes to urban travel systems, feel adequately consulted.

    Confirming previous research around the general lack of familiarity with the term ‘climate justice’, the paper also noted that willingness to support climate-friendly policies and eat less red meat were lowest for ‘climate justice’ (which was the least familiar term tested).

    This isn’t an argument for downplaying the importance of the issues the term refers to, which are central to both international climate governance and the implementation of specific in-country policies. But it does underscore the lack of recognition of the phrase among many public audiences, a finding which has also been observed in UK research.

     

    Wider Context 25th July 2024

    Labour’s plans for Great British Energy brought to parliament

    The new Labour government has brought its plans for a publicly owned energy company, Great British Energy, to parliament.

    The Great British Energy Bill was formally introduced to the House of Commons on the 25th of July, and the bill is expected to pass through its second stage in early September.

    Following a long-standing commitment to base the energy company in Scotland, Labour have since announced GB Energy will be headquartered in Aberdeen. 

    Climate Barometer Tracker 17th July 2024

    Tracker data: Renewables better for energy security than fossil fuels

    Climate Barometer Tracker data shows that renewable energy is seen as better for the country’s energy security than coal, oil and gas.

    On reliability, the public are split, with 41% saying renewables are more, or as reliable as fossil fuels, and 40% of the public seeing fossil fuels as ‘more reliable’.

    However, renewables are also seen as cheaper, and more popular with the public.

    Climate Barometer Tracker 17th July 2024

    The public feel ‘worried’, ‘sad’, and ‘no emotions’ about climate change

    Climate Barometer survey data shows the range of emotions that the public feel about climate change. Worry (43%) and sadness (20%) are the most frequently felt emotions by the British public overall, with the next most frequently chosen option being ‘I feel no emotion about climate change’.

    There are differences in the emotions experienced by different types of voters. Those intending to vote Labour, Lib Dems and Greens felt mostly ‘worried’, ‘sad’, and ‘scared’. Whilst negative, these are active emotional reactions which wider research suggests are associated with engagement with climate change, and support for climate policy (although can also lead to a sense of fatalism).

    Those intending to vote Conservative were ‘worried’ as well, but the next most frequently chosen options were ‘hopeful’, ‘no emotions’ and ‘interested’. This somewhat more positive emotional register perhaps reflects greater faith in existing institutions (‘the establishment’) to address the challenge of climate change.

    The most frequently selected option for Reform UK voters was ‘I feel no emotions about climate change’. Whilst this certainly indicates a lack of positive engagement with climate change, it also echoes what wider polling has found about the lack of salience of climate change as an issue impacting Reform voters’ electoral choices. It is perhaps more accurate to characterise Reform voters as ‘not interested in’ rather than ‘opposed to’ net zero.

    Slightly different patterns can be seen among the seven British segments, where Progressive Activists are much more likely to report anger (30%), and Disengaged Battlers more likely to say they are scared (25%). Established Liberals are among the most hopeful (20%), and Disengaged Traditionalists are the most likely to say they feel no emotions about climate change (36%), followed by Backbone Conservatives (21%).

    Opinion Insight 12th July 2024

    Post-election polling shows ‘backtracking’ on net zero targets cost the Conservatives votes

    The Conservative Party suffered their ‘worst ever’ result at the 2024 General Election. As well as general dissatisfaction with the Conservative government, polls consistently showed that worries about the cost of living, the condition of the NHS (and for some, immigration) were the biggest influences on how people voted.

    Climate change – and more broadly environmental problems like air pollution and sewage in rivers – were also cited by voters when asked to select their top three most important issues going into the election. But was climate change a ‘vote winner’ at the election?

    Echoing previous research showing an appetite for greater leadership on climate change, a large (20,000 people) survey by Focal Data on behalf of Persuasion and ECIU found that 53% of voters who had switched their vote from Conservatives to Labour (or the Liberal Democrats) believed that Government policy on climate change should be going further and faster that it has been (27% thought it should be going more slowly).

    And polling by More in Common on behalf of E3G went even further, showing that Rishi Sunak’s decision (in September 2023) to slow down some of the country’s net zero policy timelines had a negative impact on voters. People were twice as likely to say that delaying net zero targets was one of Sunak’s biggest mistakes, than his biggest achievements.

    Whilst the General Election was not fought on climate and net zero grounds (compared with the last General Election in 2019, there were roughly 50% fewer mentions of ‘climate’ in the British media election coverage), these findings suggest that there is currently no political capital to be found in opposing green policies.

    The only party standing on an anti-net zero ticket were Reform UK – but the same More in Common polling found that immigration was overwhelmingly the reason that people voted for this party. Only 4% selected Reform’s environmental policies as a reason for voting for them.

    Policy Insight 12th July 2024

    New Labour government announces planning reforms to increase onshore wind development

    In a widely anticipated move, the new Labour government announced reforms to the planning system which make the development of onshore wind farms easier (the previous Conservative government had a def-facto ‘ban’ in place).

    Onshore wind is a very popular form of energy, which people across the political spectrum support. Whilst reforms of the planning system remove an important barrier to the development of onshore wind farms, early (and inclusive) community engagement is also a critical piece of the puzzle.

    YouGov carried out polling just after the July 4th General Election, focused on the planning reforms Labour had announced. Whilst building houses on the ‘green belt’ provoked across-the-board opposition, building green infrastructure was widely popular:

    Six in ten (60%) Britons favour ending the current ban in England on building new onshore wind farms, with more strongly supporting such an overturn (30%) than opposing it to any degree (23%). Not only can this policy count on the support of at least half of all groups, it is the most popular of Labour’s proposed reforms among Conservative voters, with 54% in favour of scrapping the ban.

     

    • Source: GOV.UK
    • Date: 8th July 2024
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