New research from BT has revealed that despite listing climate change as a key societal problem, almost half of the UK’s population don’t feel that they have the ability to actively tackle it.
The research, conducted by BT and creative business and youth specialists Livity, revealed that climate change is the third most important issue for people after mental and physical health.
Despite this, almost half of those surveyed believed that they were incapable of tackling climate change individually and, as a result, one fifth confessed to not having engaged with the issue of climate change at all.
From a poll of over 2,000 adults – amongst the general and diverse population aged 18-70+ in England, Scotland and Wales – 20 per cent admitted to not engaging with the climate change agenda, despite 32 per cent stating that they worry more about the state of the environment than they do about violent crime.
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Almost one-fifth of those surveyed stated that feeling ‘alone’ in making a difference was one of the main reasons they had not attempted to tackle the issue of climate change. Others noted the lack of a collective movement to help them drive the cause.
As a result, one in four adults want better support from existing authorities to help guide their engagement with the climate change movement. More than a third also want businesses and manufacturers to make their sustainable products more affordable to help encourage greater adoption.
Ways in which some individuals are already attempting to make a change include reducing waste (54 per cent); shopping more locally (33 per cent), and raising awareness of the issues around climate change (14 per cent).
Gabrielle Ginér, head of environmental sustainability at BT, said: “Climate change is an issue that we all face and at BT we want more people to feel united in action. Where we live, our ethnicity and our socio-economic status all play a key role in defining our connection with climate change.
Source: E&T
