Arbejdsrapport fra Miljøstyrelsen, 14/2006 – Befolkningens viden, holdninger og adfærd i relation til klimaspørgsmålet

Befolkningens viden, holdninger og adfærd i relation til klimaspørgsmålet

Summary and conclusions

On average, respondents gave 59 percent right answers in a multiple-choice quiz designed to test general knowledge on climate change. This percentage is significantly lower than the 82 percent right answers found in Tager vi hensyn til miljøet (Do we care for the environment), where knowledge of a wide range of topics was surveyed. Thus, it is evident that global heating is a topic, whose nature, causes and consequences, to the average citizen, rank among the more difficult ones. Respondents' knowledge on how to prevent climate change was slightly better, as respondents gave 64 percent correct answers.

The respondents' lack of knowledge was demonstrated, when they were asked about associations to the term “greenhouse effect” and their ideas on the causes of the greenhouse effect, as it was often mixed up with the notion of ozone depletion. Likewise, the emission of greenhouse gasses such as carbon dioxide was quite frequently mixed up with the emission of ozone depleting gasses such as Freon. In fact, the burning of fossil fuels was hardly ever associated with the term “greenhouse effect”. Almost every second respondent expected the government and its agencies to be able to prevent climate change.

The population should be better informed about the extent of the Danish carbon dioxide emission, about the reduction necessary to bring the human contribution to the climate change to a halt, about the most important sources of carbon dioxide emissions at the consequences on weather and nature. And there is a need for the population to learn more about how the green house effect is generated – as a different matter than the depletion of the ozone layer.

When asked about their need for further information, respondents asked in particular for information about what to do personally to prevent climate change. In descending order, they asked for information on the current state of scientific knowledge on climate change, and for information on the consequences for the country of Denmark and its population. Respondents would prefer if this information was provided by institutions of higher learning, the Danish EPA, or the Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI).

Respondents had a very favourable attitude towards measures to reduce or stop global heating. The average approval rate of such measures on a five-point scale is 4.07. Measures lowering this average are measures causing individual costs or inconvenience. Consequently, respondents prefer measures financed by others. Young people have a more favourrable attitude to taxes on fuel than older people (who more frequently own cars), and are far more favourable towards measures that favour mass transport at the expense of driving. The high approval rates of international agreements and the implementation of renewable (i.e. wind) energy prove this point as well, as they are very likely to be interpreted by a large number of respondents as “free”.

Respondents on average carried out 60 percent of the environmentally protective behaviours mentioned in the survey. Environmentally protective behaviour was most frequent in relation to the use of electricity.

In spite of the large number of environmentally protective behaviours performed by respondents, prevention of global warming was rarely cited as motive. Thus, other motives are far more prevalent. Prevention of global warming was mainly cited as a motive for buying energy saving white goods and light bulbs. Generally, only between one half and one third of respondents cited the climate as a motive for performing environmentally protective behaviours.

Demographic factors such as age, family status and education significantly influenced whether respondents acted to prevent the environment or not. The likelihood that a person will perform environmentally protective actions increases with age, family status (children in household) and level of education in that order.

As far as the creation of an information strategy is concerned, it is important to note that both the attitude towards preventing global warming and the practical knowledge of how to increase actual, protective behaviour. A change from neutral to positive attitude towards preventing global warming will result an increase in protective behaviour of 10 percent, and a change of the level of practical knowledge from low to high will result in an increase of 6 percentage points.

Even fear of climate change will have a positive effect. The study found that a change from indifference to concern causes a person to increase the number of protective actions by 6 percentage points.

It is interesting to note that a high level of theoretical knowledge about climate change does not appear to have any significant correlation with behaviour – and if there is any correlation, it is probably negative. Behind this somewhat surprising finding seems to be the fact that the public is divided. One group of practically oriented citizens seems to be largely unaware of climate change – but nevertheless practically engaged in a number of activities that, coincidentally, reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Another group of citizens reads quite a lot, and therefore has a high level of knowledge. But this group does not turn its knowledge into preventive practices. Between these groups is a small in-between group that both acts to protect the climate and knows why its actions are in fact protective.

This points to the challenge of communication: how to connect the knowledge of the well-informed group with practical ways in which its knowledge may be put to good use, and how to associate the behaviours of the practical group with the issue of climate protection. This would confirm the positive effects of the behaviour of the practical group and render it even more meaningful than it already is, and it would open the minds of the well-informed to their possibilities for preventing climate change.

Since 2003, when the general population's perception of climate change was last surveyed, there seems to have been an increase in the awareness of the climate issue. The number of people recognizing the problem of climate change seems to have grown by four percentage, and the proportion considering climate change created wholly or in part by humans has increased by six percentage points. Furthermore, the number of people considering our industrial way of living responsible for climate change has increased by eight percentage points, and the number considering industrialization alone responsible has decreased by six percentage points.

The number of respondents in favour of halting climate change through international agreements has increased from 44 to 66 per cent. The number of respondents thinking that Denmark should take care of global warming at home, has risen from 13 to 24 per cent, while the number op respondents thinking that the problem must be solved wholly or in part by projects abroad has fallen by six percentage points.

Thus, it seems that the public debate on climate change in connection with hurricanes, climate conferences and interventions by individuals such as Bjørn Lomborg has raised the general awareness of the climate issue in a way that increases the likelihood that people will be willing to prevent climate change. People recognize the problem and are aware of their personal responsibility. Though, the middle-aged and elder among us still do not want to use the public transportation system as much as the young people are ready to do, and they are also less supportive about increased taxes. Although, no remarkable resistance against higher taxes is present.