In 2021 the EPA embarked on a new project with Yale University’s Programme on Climate Change Communications (YPCCC) to research the attitudes, behaviours, policy preferences and beliefs of the Irish public to climate change. The results of this research are made publicly available with the release of the 'Climate Change in the Irish Mind' report in 2021 and the release of the ‘Climate Change’s Four Irelands’ report in 2022.
The latest release provides new insights into the attitudes of the Irish population which will be of benefit to researchers, policymakers, government departments/agencies, communications experts, and other interested parties.
The project is being facilitated by the National Dialogue on Climate Action (NDCA) in its role as the hub for understanding public climate change knowledge, attitudes, policy preferences, and behaviour, and the underlying psychological and cultural factors that influence the public.
To carry out this research, the EPA tasked the YPCCC with characterising the Irish population and specific segments based on their climate change beliefs, attitudes, policy preferences, and behaviours.
The marketing research company Behaviours & Attitudes conducted a nationally representative survey to collect data on the Irish population for analysis by the YPCCC.
Two significant reports and a tool for the visualisation of climate change attitudes have been developed from this work:
