EPA Report Shows That 82% Of People In Tipperary Are Worried About Climate Change
A report released today by the Environmental Protection Agency has found that public support for climate action remains at a high level nationwide. The data released in this report shows the level of concern Irish people have about climate issues on a national and individual county level and is part of the ‘Climate Change in the Irish Mind’ study undertaken by the EPA in conjunction with the Yale University Programme on Climate Change in 2023.
Speaking about the data shown in the climate change opinion maps, Dr. Eimear Cotter, Director of the Office of Evidence & Assessment said: “The interactive climate opinion maps make the EPA’s Climate Change in the Irish Mind data accessible to a wide audience across Ireland. These maps show nationwide acceptance of the scientific consensus on climate change, and strong support for most climate action policies, with minimal variation based on where people live, and that most climate attitudes were resilient in the face of cost-of-living increases. However, we also see that public understanding of the causes of climate change is limited and varies between counties. In some counties, less than half of the population understands that climate change is human caused, compared to about six in ten in other areas.”
Dr Tara Higgins, Programme Manager, EPA Evidence Programme added: “It is encouraging to see that most people across all parts of Ireland believe we have a collective responsibility to act on climate change. It will be important to understand and address people’s concerns about some climate action policies – such as moving away from fossil fuelled transport and home heating. These latest climate opinion maps are a valuable resource for climate policy decision-makers, researchers, the media, non-governmental organizations, and students. We encourage people to use these maps to explore opinions on climate change and worries about climate risks in their own county and region.”
In Tipperary 82% of people involved in the study were found to be worried about climate change and climate action issues while only 18% showed no concern over these issues. People were surveyed under various categories to determine which areas of climate issues were most worrying to people on a regional basis. These categories were Risk Perceptions, Policy Support, Beliefs and Knowledge and Behaviours.
The following tables show public opinion estimates from the data which was obtained in Tipperary under the above categories:
Risk Perceptions
| Worried about Climate Change | Worried – 82% | Not Worried – 18% |
| Climate Change is personally important | Important – 59% | Not Important – 41% |
| Climate Change will harm me personally | Harm – 64% | Not Harm – 36% |
| Climate Change will harm future generations | Harm – 94% | Not Harm – 6% |
| Climate Change will harm people in Ireland | Harm – 82% | Not Harm – 18% |
| Climate Change is already harming people in Ireland or will within 10 years | Harmed now or in 10 years – 72% | Harmed in 25 + yrs or never – 28% |
| Climate Change is affecting weather in Ireland | Affecting – 89% | Not Affecting – 7% |
| Extreme Weather will harm your community | Moderate/ High Risk – 78% | Low/ No Risk – 22% |
| Worried that flooding will harm local area | Worried – 66% | Not Worried – 34% |
| Worried that wildfires will harm local area | Worried – 32% | Not Worried – 68% |
| Worried that water shortages will harm local area | Worried – 55% | Not Worried – 45% |
| Worried that rising sea levels will harm local area | Worried – 55% | Not Worried – 45% |
| Worried that severe storms will harm local area | Worried – 80% | Not Worried – 20% |
| Worried that water pollution will harm local area | Worried – 80% | Not Worried – 20% |
Policy Support
| Climate Action will improve economy and provide new jobs | Agree – 57% | Disagree – 24% |
| Climate Action will improve Ireland’s quality of life | Agree – 74% | Disagree – 12% |
| Ireland has a responsibility to act on climate change | Agree – 86% | Disagree – 14% |
| Climate Change should be a priority of the Government of Ireland | Priority – 79% | Not a Priority – 21% |
| Citizens should do more about climate change | Yes – 86% | No – 2% |
| Business should do more about climate change | Yes – 87% | No – 3% |
| Support using fossil fuel taxes to assist workers in the fossil fuel industry | Yes – 86% | No – 14% |
| Support using fossil fuel taxes to develop clean energy sources | Yes – 95% | No – 5% |
| Support using fossil fuel taxes to improve transportation infrastructure | Yes – 95% | No – 5% |
| Support banning coal and oil for home heating | Yes – 55% | No – 45% |
| Support Government grants to make electric vehicles more affordable | Yes – 85% | No – 15% |
| Support Government grants to encourage cleaner heating systems | Yes – 96% | No – 4% |
| Support increased Government investment in public transport | Yes – 91% | No – 9% |
| Support higher taxes on cars using diesel or petrol | Yes – 44% | No – 56% |
Behaviours
| Intend to reward companies for taking climate action | More Frequently – 47% | Less Frequently – 4% |
Beliefs and Knowledge
| Know a lot about climate change | Yes – 79% | No – 21% |
| Climate Change is happening | Yes – 95% | No – 5% |
| Most scientists think Climate Change is happening | Yes – 79% | No – 21% |
| Climate Change is mostly caused by human activities | Human Activities – 53% | Other causes or not happening – 7% |
| Know that Ireland’s agricultural sector is the largest pollution source | Agriculture – 27% | Another Source – 73% |
