UK public more concerned about climate change than Brexit

The majority of UK adults think that climate change will be more important in the long term than Brexit, research from the charity Christian Aid has uncovered.

After polling more than 2,000 adults, it was found that 71% think climate change is the bigger problem, with almost two-thirds saying the government is not doing enough to prioritise the issue.

And despite voting to leave the EU, people from Wales and the East Midlands are even more concerned, with 78% and 74% in these areas rating climate change as the greater challenge respectively.

The survey also found that 66% of adults believe that climate change should be a top priority for the next prime minister, rising to 71% among women, compared with 62% of men.

“I hope the prime minister will hear the challenge from the majority of the UK public to do more to tackle this climate emergency,“ Christian Aid director of advocacy, Laura Taylor, said.

“We need a rapid and radical shift to reduce emissions in the UK and we need global action for climate justice in which the most vulnerable communities are supported to not only survive but to thrive.“

This comes after a government survey found that 80% of the UK public were concerned about climate change in March, with 45% “fairly concerned“ and 35% “very concerned“.

The overall proportion worried about climate change in March was the highest recorded since 2012.

And research published last month by The Climate Coalition and Greener UK found that seven in 10 Brits want 'urgent political action“ to tackle environmental destruction.

Boris Johnson praised the UK's efforts tackling climate change in his inaugural speech as prime minister this week, but Taylor said the government must raise its ambitions.

“The pervasive impact of climate change on everyone – and particularly those in the communities in which Christian Aid works – means we cannot ignore it,“ she continued.

“The UK public is waking up to the devastating effects of the climate emergency – it's time the government did so too.“

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