3. Climate and nature

People in Britain are concerned about climate change and are taking action to protect the environment

As explored in chapter 2, 74% say climate change is an important issue. People feel sad and concerned about the impact we are having on the environment and the natural world.

More than a third (35%) say they’ve been doing more to protect the environment over the past year while 61% say they’ve been doing about the same as in previous years. 

When asked about the world’s dependence on fossil fuels like oil and gas, most people express concern. Only 5% stated feeling positively about this. 

The way action on climate change is framed makes a huge difference to how much people support it

There is a high level of awareness and concern around these issues. And while support for action is fairly high, framing and messaging alters the extent to which people support it.  

Across this research we saw big differences in how people responded to similar but differently-worded questions.

All segments are responsive to framing: there isn’t a group or type of person that is so sold on the need for urgent action that they are unaffected by language. 

Even Progressive Activists – the segment that is most concerned about climate change – find statements more compelling when they’re not expressed in climate sector jargon. 

For example, 63% of Progressive Activists find the following statement compelling: “When thinking about moving away from fossil fuels and relying more and more on clean energy, we need to prioritise a just transition”. 

Whereas, 79% of Progressive Activists find this similar, but differently worded, statement compelling: “When thinking about moving away from fossil fuels and relying more and more on clean energy, we need to prioritise a more prosperous society and building a better future for everyone.”

People who are less well off care as much as people who are better off

It’s a mistake to assume that people with less money are less worried about climate change. People who say they often struggle to make ends meet are just as worried about climate change as the rest of Britain.

That said, people who are financially well off are 12% more likely than average to think about climate change a lot.

A majority try not to think about climate change too much, for a range of reasons

23% of Brits say they are ‘very worried about climate change.’ We asked the remaining 77% what stops them being more worried about it. These were the top 5 reasons:

• they have more immediate concerns to worry about (34%)
• they try not to worry about things generally (24%)
• they think we can adapt to any changes (22%)
• they think ‘humanity has overcome big threats before and I think we can overcome this one’ (17%)
• they think the risks of climate change are exaggerated (14%)

Only 4% said they don’t think climate change is real. 

25% of Brits say they ‘think about climate change a lot.’ We asked the 75% who said ‘they don’t think about it much’ why they don’t think about it more. These were the top 5 reasons:

• it doesn’t typically come up as a topic in their day-to-day life (40%)
• there’s nothing they can do about it anyway (24%)
• It’s too depressing (18%)
• there’s nothing the government will do about it anyway (15%)
• It’s too complicated (15%)

Understanding the reasons people deliberately distance themselves from climate change means we can better communicate and engage.  

People are very worried about climate change harming nature and wildlife

We asked people which climate change impacts they are most worried about over the next 10 years. The highest by some margin is ‘harm to nature and wildlife’ with 41% selecting this as one of their top three worries. This is the case for most segments. For Traditional Conservatives and Dissenting Disruptors, it is a close second.

Top five worries about potential negative impacts of climate change by segment (Source: More in Common and Climate Outreach, June 2025)

The vast majority appreciate and respect nature

The vast majority feel strongly or somewhat appreciative and respectful of nature. 81% strongly or somewhat agree that ‘Being in nature makes me very happy.’ A smaller majority of us feel that we’re ‘part of nature.’ 

People who live in rural areas feel the most connected to nature. People in Wales feel more connected to nature than those in England and Scotland. The Sceptical Scroller segment is consistently the least connected to nature. 

Nature is unifying

The proportion of people who say they ‘always treat nature with respect’ is high across segments, ages and income levels. Traditional Conservatives strongly identify with the need to respect our environment, and use this language when they talk about these issues. 

While 42% of Traditional Conservatives say they would oppose a campaign group calling for reaching net zero, only 16% say they would oppose a campaign group calling for protecting our environment. 

People recognise that we depend on the natural world

“If we damage the natural world, we damage ourselves, because every breath of air and every mouthful of food and water comes from nature” – 83% find this message convincing and relevant, and 75% find it interesting.

This was among the most effective messages we explored in this research. It was convincing across segments and demographics, and exceptionally so for younger people, with 87% of 25-34 year olds saying it’s convincing. Even the most sceptical of this framing, those in Wales, still find it overwhelmingly relevant (75%).

In our focus groups David Attenborough was brought up a lot. He’s consistently seen as a beacon of British expertise, passion, empathy and leadership in stewarding our relationship with nature. 

People are very proud of the UK's work to protect and restore natural places

People are more proud of tree planting, national parks and reducing litter than other pro-environmental actions we presented.

People feel a high degree of pride in those tangible examples of our national efforts. Things which they see and experience themselves are valued and cherished. Many are also proud of efforts that are often seen as divisive like new wind and solar farms. This contrasts with what feel like more abstract concepts like net zero or international leadership on climate change.

People’s top priorities for climate change policy are protecting food and farming, supporting wildlife and reducing emissions

Looking at the most popular responses when people are asked to select their top three (of a possible 16) priorities for government policies to respond to climate change, people believe policies should:

• protect our food supply and support British farmers – 37%
• support wildlife – 27%
• be affordable or cost-saving for the least well off – 22%
• encourage other countries to lower their emissions – 22%
• prioritise lowering emissions as fast as possible – 21%

Importantly, the least popular option was “they should stop us all having to change our lifestyle too much”, with only 8% selecting this. This reflects the fact that people are happy to play their part, as long as they feel that it’s affordable and part of a broader endeavour.

People support both "mitigation" and “adaptation” but they don’t use or understand those terms 

Most people don’t have a detailed grasp of what’s mitigation and what’s adaptation, or what these terms mean. They see bits of both under the broad banner ‘tackling climate change’ and ‘taking climate change seriously.’ They tend to support doing both, as long as they’re explained and brought to life.

Climate concern is more normal and enduring than many realise, but it takes different forms

Climate concern has endured, not dissolved, over recent years. But it hasn’t made us into a nation of climate activists or experts with a detailed grasp of complex concepts and terms. Instead, there is a strong but often quiet sense that climate change matters, and it requires strong leadership. 

Instead of reinforcing the idea that caring about the climate looks a certain way, we need to normalise the different ways we are all grappling with it. We’re worried but we try not to think about it too much, and that’s ok. We are a nation of nature lovers and we want to play our part in protecting our world for our children and grandchildren. But we also struggle to see a clear path forward, or put climate ahead of our very real day to day worries, and that’s also ok. 

Bringing climate and nature together increases support for action 

While campaigners and experts often separate climate change from nature, people see them as part and parcel of the same thing: our responsibility to protect our environment, now and for the future. This more holistic perspective is far more inclusive and less polarising. 

We need to continually draw out the connection: show how tackling climate change is protecting nature, and how protecting nature helps to address climate change. 

Progress and possibility galvanise support

Most people don’t realise we’re already reducing our emissions. When we show them, we spark a sense of agency, possibility and a desire for further progress.

Instead of trying to make more people more worried about climate change, we need to show that it’s possible and desirable to tackle it. That progress is underway, and positive change is possible.

People especially need examples of tangible local action that they can experience and feel the benefits of, like solar panels and better public transport, rather than assuming data and stats will move people.