Is climate change risk overstated?

Connor IbbetsonData Journalist
January 22, 2020, 10:29 AM GMT+0

Despite this, two in five still consider the environmental impact of products when doing their household shopping

YouGov’s environmental trackers show that nearly half (49%) think the threat of climate change isn’t being exaggerated, and an additional cautious 18% say it probably isn’t.

However, more than a quarter (27%) of Britons think the risks posed by a changing climate are probably being over-hyped, despite scientific consensus to the contrary. One in eleven Brits (9%) is sure that danger posed by climate change isn’t as big as people are being led to believe.

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Despite a third of Britons doubting whether the dangers of climate change are as bad as described in media and by Government, most Britons do think about their environmental impact in their day to day activities, such as shopping.

Over half (59%) of British adults say that environmental sustainability has at least a fair amount of impact on what they buy when they do their household shopping – with one in six (18%) saying they consider sustainability to a large extent.

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Only one in eight (12%) say they don’t consider if products are sustainable when it comes to their house purchases.

The majority of Britons (89%) also say they will take their own bags shopping most of the time, rather than use new plastic bags from shops. Seven in ten Brits (70%) say they always take bags with them.

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Three in ten (30%) Britons also say they are often likely to buy products they know are sustainability packaged, even if they cost more.

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However, 41% they wouldn’t pay more for a sustainable product most of the time, and 20% say they would never pay more for products with eco-friendly packaging.

Image: Getty

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