One third of Irish people are alarmed about climate change
The EPA have released a report titled ‘Climate Change’s Four Irelands’. This report provides an analysis of Ireland’s attitudes towards climate change. According to the report 48% of the Irish population are concerned with climate change saying they are convinced it is a serious issue, 34% are alarmed about climate change and believe it is a real threat caused by humans, 14% are cautious about climate issues but are less certain of the causes and finally 4% of the population do not perceive climate change as a threat.
Dr Emer Cotter, Director of the EPA’s Office of Evidence and Assessment welcomed the report saying: “Climate Change’s Four Irelands’ shows that more than four out of five people in Ireland, across all regions and backgrounds, are either in the ‘Alarmed’ or ‘Concerned’ category. The small percentage in the ‘Doubtful’ category shows that climate scepticism is rare in Ireland. “People from cities, towns, villages and rural areas hold diverse views on climate change, but the study does not show a strong urban-rural divide. In relation to our attitudes to climate change, more unites us than divides us.”
Mary Frances Rochford, Programme Manager added: “Successfully addressing the challenge of climate change requires a diversity of messages, messengers and methods that reach each of these four audiences and must be tailored to meet their particular needs. This analysis provides a useful framework to help climate communicators identify and understand their target audiences to engage the public more effectively about climate change and solutions.”
