Public concern over the environment has climbed again this month, according to the latest Issues Index poll from Ipsos MORI, with pollsters predicting growing engagement with climate issues could well continue.

The long-running monthly tracker poll of around 1,000 adults asks a representative sample what is the most important issue facing the UK today and what other issues are important for the country.

The results for January show pollution, the environment, and climate change were the third highest concern for the UK public, with 23 per cent mentioning it as an important issue and nine per cent highlighting it as the most important issue.

Environmental issues came in behind Brexit and the NHS, but were narrowly ahead of a range of issues that have traditionally been deemed as more important for the public, including poverty and inequality, crime, and education.

"The largest shift in January was an increase in the proportion who mention pollution, climate change or the environment as a big issue for Britain," Ipsos MORI said. "Twenty-three per cent mentioned this as an issue, making it the third-biggest concern for the country - and almost one in ten of the public (nine per cent) listed environmental issues to be the single biggest issue facing Britain. The 23 per cent figure is also the highest score recorded for this issue for just over thirty years - the last time concern was higher was in July 1990."

The result mirror a raft of recent polling which has consistently seen concern over environmental issues reach record highs, helping to fuel a raft of new green policy commitments from government and businesses.

However, the polling also reveals how levels of environmental concern continue to vary significantly among different social groups.

For example, the level of concern among those in social grades ABC1 stood at 30 per cent, more than double the 13 per cent found among C2DE groups. Concern is also higher in London and in large cities in general, while men are less concerned than women, with 20 per cent of men and 25 per cent of women highlighting the issue.

However, perhaps surprisingly concern is relatively evenly spread across different age groups, with the youngest and middle aged cohorts the most concerned. The proportion of those citing the environment as a top concern stood at 27 per cent for 18 to 24 year olds, before falling to 19 per cent for 25 to 34 year olds and 16 per cent for 35 to 44 year olds, and then climbing again to 25 per cent for 45 to 54 year olds, 27 per cent for 55 to 64 year olds, and 22 per cent for those who are 65+.

Mike Clemence, researcher at Ipsos MORI, said the growing concern over environmental issues was part of a long term trend. "We see public concern about the environment, climate change and pollution continue to rise, building on a steady increase which started back in 2012," he said. "While we have recorded the highest individual score for this concern in three decades this month, the trend suggests that concern could go higher still."

It appears to be a similar story across The Pond in the US, too, where a new survey by the Pew Research Centre today shows that 'climate change' has now overtaken 'jobs' for the first time as a top issue that Americans want both the President and Congress to prioritise. The poll has been run regularly by the research firm for two decades, and the latest results show that while economic growth remains the priority issue cited most regularly by respondents, environmental proteciton has risen sharply over the past two years and is now just behind economic growth in second place, closely followed by climate change in third.

 

In the US, "climate change" has just overtaken "jobs" for the first time as something people want the president and Congress to treat as a "top priority"https://t.co/P6M5V5SxqR pic.twitter.com/eorv2yjJEE

— Leo Hickman (@LeoHickman) February 20, 2020