Climate Change in the Irish Mind

The report 'Climate Change in the Irish Mind' details a 2021 survey of 4,000 Irish adults. It finds overwhelming consensus that climate change is happening and human-caused, with high levels of personal worry and trust in scientists. There is strong public support for government climate action, including carbon tax spending on clean energy and transport, and a general belief that climate action will improve economic growth and quality of life. While many express willingness to take political and consumer actions, actual current participation in organized campaigns remains low.

• There is a very high level of consensus among the Irish public that climate change is occurring and is driven by human activity; 96% believe it is happening and 93% attribute it at least partially to human activities, with 60% stating it is "mostly human caused".
• A significant majority of the population is concerned about climate change, with 85% reporting they are worried and 37% describing themselves as "very worried".
• Perceptions of harm are high, particularly for others; 95% believe future generations, 94% believe people in developing countries, and 94% believe plant and animal species will be harmed "a great deal" or "a moderate amount". Regarding Ireland, 47% believe people are being harmed "right now".
• Scientists are the most trusted source of information on climate change (94%), followed by the EPA (89%) and educators (88%). Conversely, trust is lowest for online influencers, celebrities, or media personalities (24%).
• There is strong support for government-led climate action, with 79% stating climate change should be a "very high" or "high" priority. Specific support is high for grants for efficient heating (96% total support) and electric vehicles (92% total support).
• The public strongly supports using carbon tax revenues for specific purposes, most notably the development of new clean energy sources (95%) and transport infrastructure improvements (95%).
• Irish people generally view climate action as a benefit to the country, with 62% believing it will improve economic growth and create jobs, and 78% stating it will improve the quality of life in Ireland.
• While 90% believe Ireland has a responsibility to act on climate change, there is a disparity between willingness to act and current action; 55% would join a citizens' campaign to convince leaders to act, but only 3% are currently participating in one.
• Consumer-based climate action is prevalent, with 57% having purchased goods from a company because it took action to reduce climate change in the past year, and 35% having chosen not to eat meat for environmental reasons.

APA

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (n.d.). Climate Change in the Irish Mind. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/climate-change-irish-mind-2021.pdf

Chicago

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. Climate Change in the Irish Mind. n.d. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/climate-change-irish-mind-2021.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Yale Program on Climate Change Communication |title=Climate Change in the Irish Mind |url=https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/climate-change-irish-mind-2021.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 Irish Mind}}, institution = {Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}, url = {https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/climate-change-irish-mind-2021.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }