Climate Change in the British Mind

A survey of 10,660 UK residents reveals high levels of climate change awareness, with 86% believing it is happening and 75% attributing it to human activity. While 80% of respondents express worry about climate change and 82% support renewable energy, personal risk perception is lower than concern for future generations. The report also details local environmental experiences, noting that 68% of respondents experienced at least one environmental problem in the past year, most notably severe storms and flooding.

• A vast majority of the UK public believes climate change is occurring and is primarily caused by humans, with those who believe it is happening outnumbering those who do not by more than 14 to 1.
• While 80% of UK residents are at least "somewhat worried" about climate change, they perceive a greater threat to future generations (85%) than to themselves personally (56%).
• There is strong public support for government prioritization of climate change and the adoption of renewable energy sources, including wind, solar, and biomass.
• Two-thirds of UK residents reported experiencing an environmental problem in their local area in the 12 months prior to the survey, with severe storms (34%) and flooding (32%) being the most common.
• The British public strongly links climate change to various environmental issues in the UK, particularly flooding (88%), severe storms (85%), and rising sea levels (80%).
• A majority of the population (62%) believes they have personally experienced the effects of climate change.

APA

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (n.d.). Climate Change in the British Mind. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2025/01/climate-change-british-mind-a.pdf

Chicago

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. Climate Change in the British Mind. n.d. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2025/01/climate-change-british-mind-a.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Yale Program on Climate Change Communication |title=Climate Change in the British Mind |url=https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2025/01/climate-change-british-mind-a.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{yaleprogramonclimatechangecommunicationndclimate, author = {{Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}}, title = {{Climate Change in the British Mind}}, institution = {Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}, url = {https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2025/01/climate-change-british-mind-a.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }