We use cookies where necessary to allow us to understand how people interact with our website and content, so that we can continue to improve our service.
We only ever receive anonymous information, and cannot track you across other websites.
View our privacy policy
A poll conducted by Opinium for the ethical bank Triodos found alarmingly high numbers of young people are seeking mental health support for environmental and climate anxiety. The survey of 2,000 UK adults, reported in The Times, found that 14 per cent of the population have sought help, however, this figure more than doubles to 29 per cent among 18 to 34-year-olds. In striking contrast, the figure falls to just 3 per cent amongst the 55+ age group.
Commenting on the findings in The Times, Dr Carloline Hickman at the University of Bath said:
We do not want to classify it as a mental illness. It is socially, collectively, politically caused. There is nothing wrong with people worried about climate change.
New polling by More in Common shows that 86% of the UK public believe climate change to be either entirely or partially responsible for the June 2026 heatwave. This holds true even for those opposing net zero, with 63% of them seeing climate change as at least in part to blame for the extreme heat.
At the same time, more than 4 in 5 think the UK is unprepared to cope with extremely hot weather (84%) and more than 3 in 4 see the country as ill-equipped to deal with water shortages and drought (77%).
Asked about which groups they think are most negatively affected by extreme heat, the elderly (88%) and children (68%) were seen as worst impacted, closely followed by “ordinary people” (66%).
Describing the most recent heatwave in their own words, responses revealed a public struggling to cope, with words like “hot”, “worried”, “unbearable” and “uncomfortable” being mentioned most often:
Relatedly, the majority expect more political leadership on the issue: 59% of the public say they want the government to help people like them cope with the impacts of extreme heat, compared to 26% who think the government should do the same amount and only 5% who say the government should do less to help people like them cope.
Climate change didn’t cause the culture wars, but culture wars are making climate change harder to solve.
In new research from Kings College London (KCL), divisions over climate change are seen as worse than divisions over Brexit, with the public more likely to say there is tension between climate change sceptics and believers (64%) than between Leavers and Remainers (52%), or between younger and older generations (45%).
This is despite the broad-based consensus on the importance of the issue that Climate Barometer data evidences, and which is seen consistently in wider research (e.g. the recent Britain Talks Climate & Nature report, which highlights widespread care for nature, wildlife and the benefits that the transition to clean, renewable energy can bring).
More new research (from Hope Not Hate) diving into the differences between people who intend to vote Reform highlights climate change as one of the dividing lines among a disjointed coalition of factions. ‘Squeezed Stewards’ (in an echo of More in Common’s ‘Rooted Patriots’ segment, who have high levels of threat perception around environmental risks) care about nature and acknowledge the climate crisis. But the ‘Hardline Conservatives’ subgroup of Reform backers are much more likely to be in the minority of people who reject action on climate change entirely.
What does climate ‘salience’ mean in 2026?