Climate change dialogue

Projects

Icaro is currently evaluating a public dialogue around climate change, funded by the Committee on Climate Change and Sciencewise.

The key objectives of the dialogue are to learn more about:

Public understanding of the global climate change challenge and acceptability of the risks of global climate change compared to the costs of global action.
Public views of the UK’s role and responsibility within global action, their understanding of what the UK and others are doing, and tolerance for the risks of the UK moving first, compared to the benefits.
Public understanding of and attitudes to energy bill impacts of UK action. This will include evidence on whether the public understand what has driven price changes historically, understanding of what may happen to prices/bills in future and the possible trade-offs between higher but stable prices, or lower but more volatile prices, and how public acceptability of the case for action is impacted by levels of expected cost.
Whether the public think the case for UK action has changed significantly since the fourth carbon budget was legislated in June 2011. For example, do they think the recession and its impact in reducing emissions should lead to a lowering or tightening of long-term ambition?

The research will be used to inform the forthcoming review of the fourth carbon budget. It is expected that it will also be taken into consideration when setting policy to meet carbon budgets and in considering the appropriate level for future budgets.

The results from the dialogue are expected to be published in December 2013, and the evaluation report in April 2014.