Climate Policymakers Have a Perception Mismatch With The Public

The general public is more in favour of climate action than policymakers think, according to new research by academics at the University of Oxford, England.

Climate ambitions mismatch?

Earlier this year, a study showed that people in affluent countries around the world are willing to tax themselves to address climate change and ease poverty.

Even in the U.S., where the policy was least popular, half of those surveyed said they would support a climate tax that redistributes wealth. This defies conventional political wisdom, which typically holds that people hate taxes.

More recently, Oxford researchers asked attendees at the United Nations Environment Assembly to guess what percentage of the global population would give up 1 percent of their salary to help fix climate change. The work built on the research mentioned above which revealed that an average of 69 percent of people would be in favour. The UN attendees, however, guessed at 37 percent, pointing to a perception mismatch.

Study authors said the skewed view could be hampering policymaking, suggesting leaders may be less ambitious in their climate ambitions based on a misconception.

“I hope our research encourages policy officials to be braver and pursue more ambitious climate policies,” said study co-author Dr Joshua Ettinger. “They have more public support than they may realise’.

Looking at this issue from another angle, other research shows that 89 percent of people worldwide want governments to take stronger action on climate change. So, some of the world’s most respected newsrooms have united in a global climate reporting drive to amplify the voices of the ‘silent majority’ who care about the environment - and to show them they’re not as alone as they might think. And to help make their feelings impossible to ignore by those in power.