59% of UK people making low-carbon choices
The UK Met Office has published the results of a YouGov survey which finds that over half the British public are consciously making low-carbon choices, with nearly two thirds wanting to do more.
A representative sample of the British public was asked about the action they are taking to reduce their carbon footprint and their perceptions on if people in the UK are doing enough to reduce their carbon footprint.
59% of those surveyed are making conscious decisions to live a low-carbon lifestyle, including 17% who make these decisions even when it is inconvenient for them.
When asked if people in the UK are doing enough to lower their carbon footprints, nearly two thirds (65%) of respondents said we should be doing more.
Taking action now
Although the world is already committed to a level of global warming due to human-induced greenhouse gas emissions, action taken now to reduce our carbon footprint will help prevent the most dangerous impacts from climate change in the future.
Head of Climate Services at the Met Office, Professor Jason Lowe OBE, said: “Everyone can see that we’re experiencing frequent extreme weather, and an increasing number of these damaging events can be shown to have been influenced by human-induced climate change. What is interesting in these survey results is that the UK public are already engaged in reducing their carbon footprints and many people indicate they want to do more. The only way we are going to avoid the very worst impacts from climate change is by lowering our emissions of greenhouse gases, and quickly. But we also need to adapt our lifestyles and the world around us to cope with the impacts from the climate change we’re already committed to.”