Majority of Britons think government is failing to tackle climate crisis, new poll shows

With Cop27 starting on Sunday Britons have shown they are not happy with the lack of progress on climate action taken

Nearly 60 per cent of Brits think the Government is not doing enough to tackle climate change, a new survey shows.

YouGov polled more than 3,300 people and found the majority believe the environment and climate change is prioritised the least behind the cost-of-living crisis, economy and health.

The Government set itself legal targets to be carbon neutral by 2050, cutting the UK’s net contribution to global warming to zero.

Despite the ambitions though, the Conservative Party has offered 100 new licences for North Sea oil and gas drilling, even though experts have warned there should be no new fossil fuel exploration if the world is to avoid global temperature rises.

The survey was conducted for the aid agency Cafod, ahead of international climate summit, Cop27.

Head of public policy at Cafod, Graham Gordon said: “The reality of the climate crisis is already here. In the UK, our summer saw 40C heat and even now in winter, we’ve had temperatures hit 20C.

“There is a devastating drought in East Africa leaving millions on the brink of famine and deadly floods in Pakistan which have wrecked communities and taken many lives.

“It has become painfully clear the Government’s knee-jerk reaction to pursue more fossil fuels will not only cause more devastation, but it’s against the public wishes too.”

A Cop27 sign on the road leading to the conference area in Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh (REUTERS)

The poll also showed 58 per cent of Brits thought the Government had done too little to tackle climate change over the past year, in comparison to the eight per cent who believed ministers had done too much.

Out of those who voted Conservative in the previous 2019 election, 40 per cent thought the Government had done too little in the past year to tackle climate change while 14 per cent thought they had done too much.

Questioned on the Government’s target of achieving net zero by 2050 and reducing fossil fuel use, 47 per cent of people believed they were not committed to that goal.