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Cardiff University survey data shows an increase in risk perceptions around hot and dry weather from 2013 to 2019.
In 2013 only 23% of respondents thought heatwaves were a fairly or very serious problem. By 2019 this had increased substantially to 72% – although concern flooding is still greater.
Flooding was considered a fairly or very serious problem by almost all survey respondents (90%), closely followed by coastal erosion (88%), heavy storms (84%) and periods of heavy rainfall (83%).
The authors note that the “increase in perceptions of heat risks might be partly explained by personal experiences of heat related events (such as discomfort due to hot weather) – in the current survey 70% reported having this experience – as well as media coverage of recent heat-related events in the UK and worldwide.”
The National Trust – with a huge portfolio of land and historic properties that faces a wide range of risks from a changing climate – has released a report which includes a call for a new Climate Resilience Bill, putting adaptation on the same footing as mitigation (which they argue has a ‘unifying focus’ on net zero).
Research shows that people beyond specialist circles do not make a clear distinction between mitigation and adaptation, and see worsening climate impacts as one of the most motivating reasons for decarbonising faster. When asked directly whether the UK government should prioritise adaptation or mitigation, the most popular answer (around half of the survey respondents) in a 2020 poll was that both should be of equal focus.
Making sense of public opinion on climate impacts
People increasingly understand climate change as happening in the ‘here and now’. But there is a long way to go before the severity of climate risks is fully appreciated, and people are fully supported in preparing for and adapting to impacts.