Written evidence, Professor Alison Anderson (CCE0058)

About the author: Alison Anderson is Professor in the School Society & Culture, Faculty of Arts, Humanities & Business, University of Plymouth. She is a founding member of the International Environmental Communication Association and former Editor-in-Chief of Environmental Communication. Professor Anderson is an expert on climate change communication and recently presented her work on empowering youth voices to mobilise behaviour change at a COP26 Green Zone event.

Author’s declaration: The views expressed in this paper represent those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the host institutions or funders.

Sustainable Earth Institute: The Sustainable Earth Institute was established in 2015 and brings together a diverse and distributed network of researchers working on sustainability- related themes across the University. Researchers come from a variety of research areas including media/journalism, arts, business, science, health and humanities. https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/research/institutes/sustainable-earth

Summary

• This submission addresses the call with a particular focus on the need to include young people’s voices as agents of change.
• I recently undertook a community project with young people aged 16-18 in South West England, from a diverse range of backgrounds. They told us that climate change does not feature enough on the national curriculum and pupils are gaining much of their information from social media platforms such as Instagram and Tik Tok.
• A major overhaul of the curriculum is needed so that climate education is integrated beyond STEM subjects and Geography. Unless this is implemented via an amendment to the Education Act 2002 most secondary school students will miss out on a broad climate education.
• Arts based approaches to climate change offer significant potential in engaging and empowering young people, especially disadvantaged youth.
• Teachers need to be provided with more support, training and resources (with a substantial budget commitment) if there is to be a step-change in climate education and they can explore the issues in an interdisciplinary way.

Public attitudes

B. What is the UK public’s level of concern regarding climate change and environment issues, and how does this vary across the population?

• There is very strong concern about climate change and environmental issues among the British public across all demographics. A nationally representative survey undertaken in July 2021 found that four in five UK citizens (82%) say they are concerned about climate change, with a similar proportion believing it is a caused by human activity (81%) and a global emergency (80%). There is very high agreement (90%) that climate change is happening and that we are feeling the effects (82%). However, there is division among the public about the immediacy of the threat posed by climate change with 48% thinking it currently poses a great deal or a fair amount of threat and 50% thinking it does not pose very much threat or no threat at all. Yet almost two-thirds (64%) think that within five years climate change will pose a great deal or a fair amount of threat to people in the UK (Health Foundation, 2021)

Similarly, a survey conducted in October 2021 found that three quarters (75%) of adults said they were either very or somewhat worried about the impact of climate change. Just under half (43%) said they felt anxious about the future of the environment more widely in the past month and only 19% said they were neither worried nor unworried. Not knowing much about climate change, or thinking there were other urgent priorities, were the most frequent reasons for not being worried about climate change ((ONS,2021).

Additionally, the Ipsos MORI Issues Index, undertaken with a representative sample of the British public in November 2021, found that pollution/environment/climate change is people’s top concern, with the issue receiving the highest-ever score since records began in 1988. Four in ten members of the public mention these issues as a concern and one in five see them as the single biggest issue facing the country.

• Particularly high levels of concern are exhibited by those educated at least to degree level, those in higher social classes, women, and supporters of the Green Party and Labour.

Full-time students and those educated to degree level have particularly high levels of concern (90%) (Health Foundation, 2021). Supporters of the Green Party (98%) and supporters of the Labour Party (90%) exhibit a higher level of concern than supporters of the Conservative Party (76%) (ONS, 2021). Also women are more likely than men to say they are worried about the impacts of climate change (ONS,2021).

• Young people are slightly more likely to report being very anxious about climate change and the future of the environment. The ONS survey found that almost two-thirds of respondents (63%) said they felt somewhat or very negative when they thought about the future of the environment. This was slightly higher (67%) for those aged 16-24 years, those aged 25-34 (67%) and those aged 35-49 (68%). By contrast, this was the case for 61% of those aged 65-69 and 55% of those aged 70+. The Health Foundation survey found that young people aged 25-34 are significantly more likely than older age groups to think that climate change poses a threat to themselves (70% vs 55% overall) and their family (73% vs 61% overall). A representative poll of UK citizens undertaken in March 2021 found that young people aged 18-24 were the most likely age group to say they have been personally impacted by climate to either a large or significant extent compared to older age groups (YouGov,2021). Large-scale global surveys of children and young people suggest they are experiencing considerable emotional distress about the impacts of climate change and feeling disempowered (Marks et al., 2021). It is important to note that there is some mixed evidence for there being a generation gap on attitudes to climate change and it may depend somewhat on the particular wording and whether questions are couched in terms of nature conservation or climate change (Milfont et al., 2021).

• Young people have strong appetite for learning about climate change but a significant proportion say they have learnt little about it in school. In a survey undertaken in 2018 only 4% of young people (aged 9-18) felt that they knew a lot about climate change and 42% said they had learnt a little, hardly anything, or nothing about the environment at school (SOS-UK, 2018). In 2021, 58% felt that they had learnt a lot or quite a bit about the environment at their current school or college and 71% said they were interested in learning more about the environment.

Tackling climate change is considered to be the most important issue facing the world with 52% of respondents overall choosing this option. However over a third (39%) said they have learnt only a little, hardly anything or nothing.

It is worth noting that it is likely that those schools that responded were more engaged than average, since staff members who had a responsibility for this issue drove survey participation.

Young people feel that narratives that frame them as uninformed about the issues, but place responsibility on them for tackling climate change, are unhelpful. Instead, they suggest that the narrative of Government projects relating to youth engagement with climate change should be sensitised to the specific barriers young people face (British Youth Council YSG, 2020).

• Young people are mostly gaining their information on the issues outside of the formal education system, particularly from video-based social media platforms. We held a series of workshops with young people aged 16-18 in schools in South West England in 2021 and found that they tend to have high levels of concern about the issues but are gaining much of their information from social media sites such as Instagram and Tik Tok. Young people need to be equipped with media literacy and critical thinking skills so they can identify reliable sources of information. They had greater knowledge of the impacts of climate change than the causes. In addition, other environmental issues such as ozone depletion were confused with climate change.

• Young people are more concerned about social justice issues than older age groups. Young people are more likely than adults to recognise the impact of climate change on other people around the world (Jones, 2021). Framing climate change in terms of social justice issues makes it particularly relevant to this target audience.

C. What is the UK public’s appetite for the key lifestyle changes that may be needed to achieve the Government’s long-term climate change and environment goals and commitments, and how does this vary across the population?

• There are high levels of agreement that individuals have a responsibility to help tackle climate change but limited willingness or ability to make radical lifestyle changes. The Health Foundation survey found that most people agree they have a responsibility to help tackle climate change (77%) and three quarters agree that they are prepared to make changes to their lifestyle to help tackle climate change (75%). Of those who say they have made changes this is highest among women, people working full-time, those in managerial, administrative and professional occupations, and those who are highly educated. The ONS survey found that 81% of adults said they had made some or a lot of lifestyle changes to help tackle climate change. There is a strong relationship between reporting high levels of worry about climate change and reporting having made a lot of changes. Women were more likely to say they have made lifestyle changes (85%) compared with men (77%). Adults in the oldest and youngest age groups were slightly less likely to say they had made lifestyle changes (74% of those aged 70+ and 77% of those aged 16 -24). In a recent YouGov poll 20% of adults said they would be willing to see substantial increases in the price of overseas travel, 13% said they would accept higher costs for meat and other animal products and only 2% supported increasing heating bills. Just under a quarter (23%) said they would not be prepared to support any of these measures.
• Structures need to change as well as individuals. Many individual behaviours that impact on climate change and the environment are based on habit and social norms but also reflect the range of choices that individuals have open to them (Verplanken & Whitmarsh, 2021; Whitmarsh et al., 2021). There is a substantial body of survey data on UK citizens’ willingness to make lifestyle changes but there is a significant attitude-action gap.

There are a number of communication challenges that need to be addressed in conveying the benefits, but also many structural barriers to participation - especially for individuals in disadvantaged communities. Schools are highly important agents of change within communities and could make a substantial difference through embedding sustainability and climate change in everything they do, from greening their estate and waste disposal, through to growing their own food.

The role of Government and other actors

P. How can Government best work with civil society, including community groups, to deliver behaviour change?

• Climate change needs to feature more prominently in the UK National Curriculum. Climate change is mainly limited to being taught in Geography and Science classes (Teach the Future, 2020). Young people told us that they want to see it more embedded within the curriculum (Seith, 2021). A recent survey of teachers found that 41% said climate change is rarely or never mentioned in their schools, and only 5% claimed that it is is integral to many different aspects of the curriculum and teaching (SOS-UK, 2021).

There needs to be a radical reform of the curriculum so that climate education is integrated beyond STEM subjects and Geography. Unless this is implemented, most secondary school pupils will miss out on a broad climate education. Arts based approaches such as interactive visualizations offer huge potential in engaging and empowering young people, especially disadvantaged youth.

• A majority of teachers think a radical over-haul of the curriculum needs to take place. A YouGov survey undertaken in UK primary and secondary schools in 2019 found that 70% of teachers agreed that current UK education legislation needs radical change to make the education system fit for the times we live in. Only 18% of teachers said they had received adequate training to educate students on climate change, its implications for the environment and societies around the world and how these implications can be addressed (SOS-UK, 2019). A recent follow up to this survey, undertaken in 2020, found that the vast majority (90%) of teachers said that climate change should be compulsory in schools.

Government policy

U. What are the main strengths and weaknesses of current Government policies on behaviour change, and what are the key improvements that could be made?

• Youth are gaining more of a voice in Government policies on behaviour change. It is pleasing to see that the Secretary of State has committed to integrated climate education in the co-chairs statement at COP26. Also another significant development is that the DfE is working with key stakeholder groups, including young people, in implementing the draft Sustainability and Climate Change strategy. The Youth Steering Group, set up by the Department for Digital Culture, Media and Sport, has also provided an important vehicle to enable young people to have more of a say in policy making on climate change and sustainability.

• However, a more targeted approach is needed in communicating with young people.

Effective communication campaigns require trusted messengers and a targeted approach (Anderson & Maffey, 2021).

Findings from the Youth Steering Group report suggest that for government behaviour campaigns to be successful they need to be communicated clearly and concisely in a relevant way to appeal to a young audience. Our workshops with young people suggest that they find jargon and technical language unhelpful and catastrophic messaging disempowering. They particularly engage with visual methods of communication and infrequently follow mainstream media (British Youth Council YSG, 2020).

Young people tend to have greatest trust in NGOs who focus on climate change, or peer-to-peer communication (British Youth Council YSG, 2020). Our workshops with young people also found that teachers are a relatively highly trusted source (Seith, 2021).

• The Education Act 2002 needs to be amended so that there is provision in the national curriculum regarding sustainable citizenship and protection of the environment. Awareness of, and engagement in, sustainability and climate change issues must be made the third objective for the National Curriculum and then woven into assessment and quality processes. Greater resources need to be provided for teacher training in this area.

• The DfE’s draft Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy needs to go further and ensure young people are given a broad climate education that is integrated within all subject areas in an interdisciplinary fashion. Teachers and educators must be fully involved in ensuring that practical solutions are developed. A new duty on schools should be introduced to ensure they designate a senior staff member to act as climate coordinator.

• Public engagement needs to be genuinely inclusive and co-produced. It must be grounded in social science and recognise that there can be no one size fits all. The DfE should fully involve young people by expecting all Climate Action Plans developed by educational institutions to be created in conjunction with students. Also the creation of Youth Climate Boards would help to ensure that students’ voices are heard.

V. What external and/or material factors could restrict the success of these policies?

• Young people feel disenfranchised from making changes on an individual level without the support from large businesses and organisations who also have a collective responsibility to bring about change. They think that moral incentives are not alone enough to prompt young people facing economic barriers to make necessary changes and call for subsidies to help people be able to make the ‘right’ choice. For example, plant-based foods and drinks are often marketed to appear more expensive options and some restaurants and cafes charge extra for alternatives to milk (British Youth Council YSG, 2020).

• Young people often feel alienated from policies developed by Government. More meaningful engagement needs to take place with young people through a variety of fora so that they have a greater say. This is beginning to take place but more could be done so that policy changes fully consider the impacts of intended decisions on young people (British Youth Council YSG, 2020)

References

Anderson, A. and Maffey, G. (2021) Five Steps for Astronomers to Communicate Climate Change Effectively. Nature, 5: 861-863. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-021-01481-2

British Youth Council Youth Steering Group (2020) Review of Environment and Climate Policy. http://www.youthworkunit.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Youth-Steering-Group-Climate-Change-Review-2020.pdf

Clarke, J. (2021) House of Lords debate briefing: the role of behaviour change in reaching net zero & the case for a public engagement strategy. https://climateoutreach.org/lords-briefing-behaviour-change-net-zero-public-engagement/

Demski, C. (2021) Net zero public engagement and participation A research note https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/net-zero-public-engagement-and-participation

Marks, E. et al.  (2021) Young people’s voices on climate anxiety, government betrayal and moral injury: A global phenomenon. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3918955 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3918955

Jones, V. (2021) Young People and Climate Change: Hear our Voice, University of West of England.

Milfont, T.L., Zubielevitch, E., Milojev, P. et al. (2021) Ten-year panel data confirm generation gap but climate beliefs increase at similar rates across ages. Nat Commun 12, 4038.

ONS (2021) Three-quarters of adults in Great Britain worry about climate change. https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/wellbeing/articles/threequartersofadultsingreatbritainworryaboutclimatechange/2021-11-05

Seith, E. (2021) COP26: Teachers a ‘trusted source’ on climate change, Times Educational Supplement, 2nd November. https://www.tes.com/magazine/news/general/cop26-teachers-trusted-source-climate-change

SOS-UK (2019) Schools Sustainability Survey: Research into pupils’ views on environmental sustainability https://www.sos-uk.org/research/schools-and-sustainability

SOS-UK (2021) Schools Sustainability Survey: Research into pupils’ views on environmental sustainability https://www.sos-uk.org/research/schools-and-sustainability

Teach the Future (2020) Teaching the Future: Research with UK teachers on the current state and future of climate education
https://www.teachthefuture.uk/teacher-research

The Health Foundation (2021) Public Perceptions of Climate Change and Health https://www.health.org.uk/publications/public-perceptions-of-climate-change-and-health-september-2021

Verplanken, B., & Whitmarsh, L. (2021) Habit and climate change. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 42, 42–46.

Whitmarsh, L., Poortinga, W., & Capstick, S. (2021) Behaviour change to address climate change. Current Opinion in Psychology, 42, 76-81.

YouGov (2021) https://docs.cdn.yougov.com/gkct8b2i0l/Sky_ClimateChange_210331.pdf