UK public ‘united’ in support of climate change action, report claims

A report released today by the cross-party think tank Demos in partnership with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), claims that the majority of the British public are ‘united’ in support of climate change action.

The study, which The Guardian referred to as the most extensive analysis of the British public’s climate policy preferences to date, found that the people broadly agreed with the same policies regardless of their class, location or political leanings.

People’s views were gathered via a ‘climate calculator’ which allowed participants to select the policies they preferred to be used toward the government’s aim of reducing emissions by 39% from 2019 to 2030.

94% of participants agree with imposing a £75 per tonne carbon tax on polluting manufacturing and construction businesses, with some funding to invest in new technologies.

89% indicated they would be in favour of raising flying costs, especially on frequent fliers.

There was also majority support for better public transport, a nationwide charging system for electric cars, and campaigns for reducing meat and dairy consumption.

The policies available within the calculator were picked from the Climate Change Committee’s official recommendations to government.

According to WWF and Demos calculations, the implementation of the climate policies participants indicated support for in this study could deliver the emissions reductions required to meet the UK’s 2030 climate targets.