Engaging Norfolk communities with climate change

1
Engaging Norfolk communities with climate change

• Dr. Saffron ONeill and Dr. Lorraine Whitmarsh

2
Data collection 1
Postal survey Aug 2008 - Sept 2008

• Representative postal survey 2,000
  questionnaires hand-delivered across 6 diverse
  wards in Norfolk
• Survey comprised 8 pages of 36 qualitative /
  quantitative questions on carbon literacy
  attitudes to climate change offsetting
  pro-environmental offsetting behaviours env.
  self-identify value measures demographic
  measures
• n 350

3
Data collection 2
Icons workshop May 2007

• Stratified convenience sampling at The Forum,
  Norwich
• Survey comprised 8 pages of 31 qualitative /
  quantitative questions investigating general
  attitudes towards climate change levels of
  concern perceived personal vulnerability icon
  engagement assessment demographic measures.
• n 153

4
Knowledge of terms

• A majority of people are aware of key climate
  terms

climate change
carbon dioxide
carbon footprint
5
Climate change is spatially remote
Q. How serious a threat is climate change to
I think of things like icebergs, and glaciers
shrinking and snow disappearing... Big things.
Because I can only really think of it in big
terms because I don't really know how things are
going to change on a smaller scale, or how it
will affect people.
6
Climate change is temporally remote
Q. how dangerous a threat is climate change for
I find its very difficult that its not us
thats gonna be affected, or our children gonna
be affected, its gonna be far in the future.
People only think as far ahead as their lifetime
- and thats very difficult for us to take action
7
The issue is often not of personal concern
Q. do you think climate change is going to affect
you, personally?
8
Climate change can induce negative emotions
The thought of climate change fills me with dread
Climate change is something that frightens me
like humankind collapse death of the world,
human extinction
9
Majority see climate change as having both human
and natural elements
10
Some misunderstandings exist over relative
causes of climate change
11
The scientific consensus is sometimes not
recognised
12
Action extends little beyond recycling and
domestic energy conservation
13
Engaging with Norfolk communities

• Individuals in Norfolk know about, and are
  concerned about, climate change
• Action is limited particularly transport and
  political
• Recognition of the barriers above can help to
  inform engagement approaches
• Greater carbon capability is needed an increase
  in individuals knowledge, skills and motivation
  but also need recognition of the collective and
  governance actions required