Climate Change in the Irish Mind Wave 2 Report 1

The 'Climate Change in the Irish Mind Wave 2' report reveals high levels of climate awareness and concern among the Irish public, with 95% believing climate change is happening and 81% expressing worry. While there is strong support for government climate action and renewable energy infrastructure, support for prohibitive policies like banning fossil fuel heating has weakened since 2021. The report also highlights a significant gap in climate literacy, noting that while most have heard of the 'greenhouse effect', very few can correctly define it or accurately estimate the carbon footprint impact of dietary changes.

• There is a very high level of consensus in Ireland that climate change is occurring and is driven by human activity; 95% of people think it is happening, and 92% believe it is caused at least in part by humans.
• Public concern regarding climate change is high, with 81% of the population reporting they are at least 'somewhat worried', and 34% describing themselves as 'very worried'.
• Irish citizens perceive immediate and local risks from climate change, with 54% believing people in Ireland are being harmed 'right now' and 88% stating that climate change is affecting Irish weather.
• Scientists are the most trusted source of climate information, trusted by 93% of respondents, followed by the Environmental Protection Agency at 88%.
• While 79% of the public believe climate change should be a high or very high government priority, support for restrictive policies has declined since 2021, such as support for banning peat, coal, and oil for home heating, which fell by 9 percentage points to 59%.
• Public support for climate action remains generally resilient despite cost-of-living increases, although those experiencing financial difficulty show weaker support for higher taxes on petrol/diesel cars and bans on fossil fuel home heating.
• There is strong public support for using carbon tax revenues to fund clean energy (95%), transport infrastructure (95%), and energy efficiency for low-income households (95%).
• A significant gap exists between climate awareness and literacy; while 96% have heard of the 'greenhouse effect', only 5% can correctly distinguish it from other environmental issues like acid rain or the ozone layer.
• The Irish public tends to overestimate the carbon footprint reduction of highly visible actions like using reusable bags or energy-efficient lighting, while underestimating the impact of plant-based diets.
• Consumer activism is present in Ireland, with 52% of people purchasing from companies taking climate action and 41% avoiding products from companies opposing climate steps in the last year.

APA

O’Mahony, D., Quinlan, C., Cotter, E., Rochford, M. F., Leiserowitz, A., O’Regan, A., Carman, J., & Rosenthal, S. (2024). Climate Change in the Irish Mind Wave 2 Report 1. Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Climate-Change-in-the-Irish-Mind-Wave-2-Report-1.pdf

Chicago

O’Mahony, Desmond, Conor Quinlan, Eimear Cotter, Mary Frances Rochford, Anthony Leiserowitz, Aoife O’Regan, Jennifer Carman, and Seth Rosenthal. Climate Change in the Irish Mind Wave 2 Report 1. Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, 2024. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Climate-Change-in-the-Irish-Mind-Wave-2-Report-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{omahony2024climate, author = {O’Mahony, Desmond and Quinlan, Conor and Cotter, Eimear and Rochford, Mary Frances and Leiserowitz, Anthony and O’Regan, Aoife and Carman, Jennifer and Rosenthal, Seth}, title = {{Climate Change in the Irish Mind Wave 2 Report 1}}, institution = {Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}, year = {2024}, url = {https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Climate-Change-in-the-Irish-Mind-Wave-2-Report-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }