1.1. A large majority of people in the UK think climate change is happening.
People in the United Kingdom who think climate change is happening outnumber those who think it is not happening by a ratio of more than 14 to 1.
More than eight in ten people in the UK (86%) think climate change is happening. By contrast, only 6% of people in the UK think climate change is not happening, and 7% say they don’t know whether climate change is happening.
1.2 A majority of people in the UK think climate change is primarily human-caused.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Sixth Assessment synthesis report, summarising the work of thousands of climate experts worldwide, states: “Human activities, principally through emissions of greenhouse gases, have unequivocally caused global warming.”IPCC. (2023). Summary for Policymakers. In Core Writing Team, Lee, H., & Romero, J. (eds.). Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland. doi: 10.59327/IPCC/AR6-9789291691647.001
A majority of people in the UK (75%) understand that climate change is mostly human-caused. By contrast, 17% think it is caused mostly by natural changes in the environment.
1 IPCC. (2023). Summary for Policymakers. In Core Writing Team, Lee, H., & Romero, J. (eds.). Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland. doi: 10.59327/IPCC/AR6-9789291691647.001