Climate denial

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%).

There are dozens of different narratives in circulation about climate change, arguing in favour of climate action and green policies, as well as arguing against them. But which ones actually cut through to the public?

Climate Barometer tracker data shows that narratives that are pro-climate action are being heard and are generally agreed with by the public. Even a striking statistic about emissions inequality (the richest 1% emit twice as much as the poorest 50% combined) has been heard of and agreed with by 48% of the public.

In contrast, statements sometimes made in opposition to net zero and climate action (‘we can either fix the climate or fix the economy’) and key anti-net zero attack lines (‘net zero policies will make us colder and poorer’), or misinformation about 15 minute neighbourhoods are mostly unheard of.

Areas where misinformation is more prevalent include attitudes about electric vehicles (being ‘no more environmentally-friendly than petrol or diesel cars’), and the role of population growth in global carbon emissions.

MPs generally indicate higher exposure to media narratives about climate change, and more Conservative MPs in particular seem to agree with certain statements about the reliability of renewables ‘when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine’, and on the sustainability of electric vehicles.

Conservative MPs are more likely than the general population to read newspapers like the Telegraph, where many of the anti-net zero statements tested in the Climate Barometer tracker can regularly be found.