Abstract
Over the past few decades, substantial funding has been directed towards improving scientific understanding and management of impacts of climate change in the marine environment. Following concerns that the key messages from these studies were not reaching the public, a comprehensive opinion poll of 10,000 European citizens in 10 countries was conducted to establish levels of awareness, concern, and trust among different demographic groups (by age, gender, proximity to the coast) and nationalities. Citizens exhibited varying levels of self-declared ‘informedness’ and concern. Citizens from Germany, Italy and Spain claimed to be the most informed on marine climate change issues; those from Czech Republic, Netherlands and Estonia claimed to be least informed. Respondents were least aware of ocean acidification and most aware of melting sea ice, pollution and overfishing. Citizens of Italy suggested that they were generally most concerned about marine climate change issues. Respondents from coastal areas claimed to be both more informed and more concerned than those living inland, as did females and older age groups (54-64 years). European citizens obtain information about climate change in the seas and ocean from different sources, particularly television and the internet. Trust in the various media sources varies among countries and demographic groups. Television is trusted most in Estonia, Germany and Ireland and least in France. The internet is trusted most in Italy, Czech Republic and Estonia, but least in France and the United Kingdom. 18-24 year olds are the biggest users of the internet, but trust this source less than older age groups. Academic scientists or those working for environmental NGOs are trusted more than scientists working for government or industry. Citizens from France are more trusting of industry than any other country polled. In terms of policy actions, most respondents highlighted mitigation measures as opposed to local-scale adaptation. Younger participants prioritised actions associated with reducing carbon emissions, whereas older age groups prioritised improving coastal defences. Successful adaptation to the impacts of climate change requires public engagement and support for policy decisions, and the use of different approaches to take account of differences among demographic groups and nationalities.
Highlights
There is a growing body of work on public perceptions of the impacts of climate change
When asked about general perceptions of major global risks, 18% of all respondents said that climate change was the most serious problem facing the world
The most important finding of the polling study conducted here is that most concerns, regarding climate change in the seas and ocean, were common across all 10 countries examined, with marine pollution, and melting sea-ice, coastal flooding, and sea level rise being highlighted as areas of particular interest and concern for most European citizens
Summary
There is a growing body of work on public perceptions of the impacts of climate change (see Brulle et al, 2012). Very little has been done on public perceptions of marine environmental issues in general (Jefferson et al, 2014; Potts et al, 2016) or on the impacts of climate change on the marine environment . This paper describes the findings from the first in-depth study into public engagement with marine climate change issues in Europe, which was conducted to establish levels of awareness, concern and trust among different demographic groups (by age, gender, proximity to the coast) and nationalities. The scale of this study, based around a public opinion poll of over 10,000 European citizens across 10 countries, provides a unique opportunity to quantitatively explore attitudes and awareness, and to place these views in the wider context of debates about science communication, sources of trust, and “ocean literacy,” and how best to target communications among different countries and demographic groups
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
