The UK government is doing too little to tackle climate change, say nearly six in 10 people surveyed in a poll.
The survey was conducted for the aid agency Cafod before the Cop27 UN climate talks in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.
It also found that almost half of those surveyed did not think the government was committed to its climate goals.
The poll found more than a third thought the UK was also not doing enough to support poorer countries in battling climate change — an issue that will be a key item at Cop27.
The government has legal targets to cut emissions to zero overall, known as net zero, by 2050 to end the UK’s contribution to global warming.
It hosted last year’s Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow.
But before this year’s talks, it has come under fire for actions including offering 100 new licences for North Sea oil and gas drilling.
The YouGov poll of 3,305 found that the environment and climate change were behind the cost of living, economy and health on the list of things to which people thought the government should give priority.
Sharm El Sheikh's preparations for Cop27 - in pictures
-
A billboard in Sharm El Sheikh ahead of the climate summit. All photos: Mahmoud Nasr / The National -
Electric car chargers have been installed in petrol stations in Sharm El Sheikh to help the city go green. -
Egypt's first electric bus charging station has started working ahead of Cop27. -
Buses charge up at the station. -
Solar panel power stations will provide energy for the city during Cop27. -
Panel power in the sunlit desert.
But 58 per cent thought the government had done too little to tackle climate change over the past year, compared to just 8 per cent who thought ministers had done too much, and 15 per cent who said they had done the right amount.
About 40 per cent of those quizzed who voted Conservative in 2019 thought the government had done too little in the past year, and in general, on climate change, compared to 14 per cent who thought they had done too much.
Questioned on the government’s target to achieve net zero by 2050 and reduce reliance on fossil fuels, 47 per cent said the government was not committed to the goal, while 19 per cent thought it was.
The poll also revealed that 37 per cent thought the UK was doing too little to support poorer countries tackle climate change, while 19 per cent thought it was doing about the right amount and 14 per cent thought it was doing too much.
Access limited for Cop27 climate activists — in pictures
-
The Cop27 summit in Sharm El Sheikh is the first annual UN climate conference to be held after the easing of Covid-19 restrictions. Campaigners see it as a crucial venue for raising the alarm over climate change and putting pressure on governments to act. All photos: Reuters -
But they say voicing their concerns through rallies and protests as they have done in past host countries or cities will be more challenging in Egypt, where public demonstrations are effectively banned and activists have struggled to operate legally. -
Limits on accreditation and attendance badges for activists, especially from poorer nations, have also been a point of contention at previous UN climate summits. -
Egypt, which has only one NGO permanently accredited to attend the annual summits, says the inclusion of civil society is a priority, and it has helped to add more NGOs, including 35 Egyptian groups, through a single-year admission valid only for Cop27. -
That was a positive step but the process was not publicly announced and did not give some groups a fair chance to apply, said Hossam Bahgat, head of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights and one of Egypt's best known campaigners. -
A representative of Egypt's Cop presidency said there had been a 'fully transparent' selection process approved by the UN after consultation with regional organisations and national negotiating teams. Egyptian groups were recommended based on their environment and climate change expertise, the representative said. A UN climate change spokesman said there had been about 10,000 registrations from close to 2,000 admitted observer organisations for Cop27, which was similar to Cop26 in Glasgow. -
Another concern among activists is the difficulty ordinary citizens may face in visiting Sharm El Sheikh. The city, situated at the southern tip of Egypt's Sinai peninsula, is bordered by the sea on one side and a concrete and wire barrier in the desert on the other. -
Some of those hoping to travel from outside Egypt have been put off by hotel prices that ran into hundreds of dollars a night earlier in the year. After lobbying from civil society, the government negotiated a $120 price cap for two-star hotels and announced cheaper accommodation in recent weeks. That included rooms for 400 young people at about $30 to $40 a night, and was designed to help African groups overcome long-standing obstacles to having access to Cop summits, said Omnia El-Omrani, Cop27's youth envoy.
“The reality of the climate crisis is already here," said Graham Gordon, Cafod’s head of public policy.
"In the UK, our summer saw 40ºC heat and even now in winter, we’ve had temperatures hit 20ºC.
But Mr Gordon said that elsewhere in the world, the consequences of climate change had been “deadly”.
“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," he said.
“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.”
MPs accuse government of failing to lead on cutting carbon emissions
The government has been accused by MPs of failing to give an effective lead on cutting damaging greenhouse gas emissions, despite having set a target of net zero emissions by 2050.
The House of Commons public accounts committee said “vague” guidelines and “fragmented” responsibilities meant less than half of all government departments were complying with mandatory reporting requirements on emission levels.
It said “inconsistent” reporting of data across the public sector made it difficult to compare performance and could undermine confidence in reported progress towards the 2050 target.
Climate change around the world - in pictures
-
Engineers carry solar panels on to the roof of a property in Barcelona in September 2022. Spain and other Mediterranean countries have generated record amounts of power from wind and solar farms. Bloomberg -
Smoke rises from brick factory stacks in Nahrawan, Baghdad. Tackling emissions from heavy industry is crucial to tackling global warming. Reuters -
A boy stands near a flock of sheep as a sandstorm approaches in the Syrian countryside of Tabqa. Syria is among the countries most vulnerable and poorly prepared for climate change, which is expected to worsen. AFP -
Mountains of smouldering rubbish at the Bhalswa landfill in New Delhi, India. Reuters -
Greenpeace activists take part in a climate change protest in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin in May. AP -
A man carries water bottles across the heavily polluted Negro River in Manaus, Brazil. About 35 tonnes of rubbish are removed daily from the river. AP -
A helicopter drops water on a brush fire in California. Bloomberg -
UN climate chief Patricia Espinosa speaks on the opening day of the Bonn climate change conference in Germany. Getty -
Activists take part in a demonstration to raise awareness of global warming, during an event to mark World Environment Day in Kolkata. AFP -
A helicopter drops water on a bushfire near a residential district in Athens. The fire forced residents to flee. AFP -
A gauge measures water levels in the Rio Nambe river, in New Mexico. Ninety per cent of the state is experiencing extreme drought. Getty -
Afghan refugees search for recyclable material from heaps of rubbish in Karachi, Pakistan. AP -
A climate activist ties herself to the net during the semi-final tennis match between Croatia's Marin Cilic and Norway's Casper Ruud at the French Open in Roland Garros in Paris. AP -
A dance group performs at a climate summit in Stockholm, Sweden. Getty -
US climate envoy John Kerry talks to a delegate at the Stockholm 50 climate summit. Getty -
A boat is stranded during low tide at the Chebayesh marsh in Dhi Qar province, Iraq. Reuters -
A woman crosses a polluted river in Dhaka, Bangladesh. EPA -
A man walks past an abandoned boat in the bed of a drought-affected reservoir on the outskirts of Sana'a, Yemen. EPA
Oversight of emissions reporting across Whitehall is split three ways, with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Treasury and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs all having a role.
As a result, the committee said, the guidance they issued to other departments was “too vague” and compliance was “low”, with some departments doing little to address the issue.
“Leadership and oversight of emissions measurement and reporting in central government is fragmented and ineffective,” it said.
“Despite the time and resources central government bodies are committing to measuring and reporting their emissions, we are not convinced that they, or the wider public sector, are making sufficient use of their emissions data to drive decision-making.
“We have seen little evidence that public bodies are using the data available to estimate the potential costs of decarbonising the sector, or to identify priorities and develop plans.”
Animals in danger of extinction due to climate change - in pictures
-
Some of the planet’s most stunning creatures, including giraffes and parrots, are at risk from global warming and other human-induced environmental change, the UN has warned. Photo: AFP -
Giraffes stand by the shade of a tree in Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda. Photo: AP -
Some analysts have concluded that the likes of toucans, puffins and hummingbirds may face particularly uncertain futures. Photo: EPA -
A hummingbird flies at a garden in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela. Photo: AFP -
Wildfires in southern France. Tree species are facing several threats including an increase in the frequency of wildfires due to climate change and deforestation because of industry, agriculture and firewood. Photo: AFP
The committee said the government should follow the example of the private sector, where some companies are seeking to measure and report on the indirect emissions attributable to their operations, such as those from goods and services bought from external suppliers.
“Government promised to lead the way to national decarbonisation but isn’t even putting its own house in order," said the committee chairwoman, Dame Meg Hillier.
“A free-for-all on reporting veils progress or lack of it.
"Government needs to be clearer and must publish consistent standards for measuring and reporting emissions across the public sector so that it can be properly held to account.”
