Home truths could make the difference on climate change n African children bear the load problem n Pessimism on peace n
UK ethnic diversity spreads n NEWS
Nurturing relationships fight flab n Self-care steps to drug recovery n
Balance sheet cap solution for bankers’ pay n New view on the European Commission n Mediation fails to make impact n
More feminine outlook for Conservative Party n Fertility travels on the rise n Peace pays financial dividends n
NEWS
Home truths could make the difference on climate change
The 2050 goal of reducing UK greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent is unlikely to be met without radical changes in people’s lifestyles and behaviour. Yet while a majority of people in Britain and other nations profess their concern about this issue and the environment in general, far fewer are willing to make substantial changes which would lead them to live in more sustainable ways. One of the reasons that people
may not take action to mitigate climate change is that they lack first-hand experience of its potential consequences, suggests ESRC Climate Change Fellow Professor Nick Pidgeon. A new survey of 1,822 members of the British public aimed to test whether personal experience of flooding had affected perceptions about climate change or, indeed, respondents’ intentions regarding energy use. “Our findings show that direct
experience of extreme weather events such as flooding increases concern about climate change and people’s willingness to engage in energy-saving behaviour,” Professor Pidgeon points out. “Moreover, members of the public are more prepared to take personal action and reduce their energy use when they perceive their local area has a greater vulnerability to flooding,” he adds.
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Researchers believe that highlighting links between local weather events and climate change could increase public concern and action on climate change. “The apparent lack of public engagement with climate change is now a critical problem,” Professor Pidgeon states.
the environmental policy community more broadly can engage people with both the mitigation and adaptation agendas,” Professor Pidgeon concludes. “Although the global impacts of climate change are extremely important for policy, to focus solely upon this might simply distance ordinary people further
Direct experience of extreme weather
events increases concern about climate change and people’s willingness to engage in energy-saving behaviour
“Although people do have a good appreciation of many of the more prominent climate change impacts (warming, sea level rise, melting glaciers), they often assume that these will only affect other people, future generations or distant places. In effect climate change is spatially and temporally distant for many people.” The study suggests that extreme
weather events such as major flooding episodes provide perhaps the best visible local sign of increasing climate risks, and therefore hold the potential to change the way people view climate change by making it more real and tangible. “Our results suggest new ways in which climate scientists and
from the issue. Communications might therefore also focus upon the ways that climate risks are, even now, becoming more tangible at a local level, and the concrete implications of this for people, their localities, and everyday lives. In other areas of public policy, as when trying to encourage more healthy behaviours, such efforts have become routine. For climate change the challenge now is to find ways of matching that effort.” n
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Contact Professor Nick Pidgeon, University of Cardiff Email
pidgeonn@cardiff.ac.uk Telephone 029 208 74567 ESRC Grant Number RES-062-23-1134
SUMMER 2011 SOCIETY NOW 3
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