A new poll of Scots has found that a substantial majority considers climate change to be a “global emergency” – with the result staying the same regardless of age, sex or class.
The Understanding Scotland survey revealed that 82% would use that term to describe the issue, with only 12% disagreeing.
While just under half of people surveyed said they did not think combatting climate change would harm the economy, the area with the largest percentage of people who thought it would – 35% – was the north-east.
But even in a region so heavily linked with North Sea oil and gas, the number who thought acting on the issue could be done without economic damage was six percentage points higher.
The most responsibility for tackling climate change, according to 58% of respondents, lay with the government, although 16-34 year olds were less likely than others to hold individuals responsible and almost twice as likely to hold businesses most responsible.
‘Onus on national governments’
The poll was based on 2,276 responses from a representative sample of the Scottish population aged over 16.
It was conducted and designed by Edinburgh-based consultancy and research company The Diffley Partnership, and sponsored by Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC).
Diffley Partnership director Mark Diffley said: “These findings point to a widespread concern at the scale of the climate emergency, regardless of age or background.
“There is a clear onus on national governments to act, with a widespread perception that this could provide an economic boost at the same time as tackling this formidable challenge.”
The full report can be found at this link.
