Some 67% of UK citizens accept that climate change is due to human activity, with 17% believing that climate change is due to other, non-human factors, according to a new study by YouGov, published to coincide with Earth Day 2025.
Just 4% of respondents believe that the climate is not changing, according to the study.
Climate change concerns
When examined by political party affiliation, a majority of respondents believe that humans are the central cause of climate change, however this differs from party to party.
Some 88% of Green voters and 84% of Labour voters believe that the climate is changing as a result of human activity, along with 79% of Liberal Democrat voters.
However, among Conservative and Reform UK voters, the results are more nuanced – 55% of Conservative voters cite human activity as the cause of climate change, with 28% citing other factors.
Among Reform UK voters, meanwhile, 41% believe humans are responsible for climate change, with 39% citing other, non-human factors. Reform UK voters are the most likely to believe that the climate is not changing, with more than one in ten (11%) identifying with this statement.
‘Exaggerated’ claims
Public opinion also differs around the perceived severity of climate change, with 62% stating that concerns about climate change ‘have not been exaggerated’ and 23% believing that they ‘have been exaggerated’.
Again, there are differences by political party, with Reform UK voters notably more sceptical – some 61% say the dangers of climate change are overstated, and 29% state that they aren’t.
By contrast, Green (90%), Labour (80%), and Lib Dem (74%) are by far more likely to state that concerns about climate change have not been exaggerated. Some 50% of Conservative voters state that climate concerns have not been exaggerated, compared to 33% who believe they have.
‘More sceptical’
‘Although the public largely accept the scientific consensus, they are becoming more sceptical about government policy on climate change,’ YouGov stated. ‘In January 2020, 37% of Britons said that the environment and climate change was one of the top areas where government should increase spending, against just 10% who saw it as one of the areas of spending most deserving of cuts.
‘Over the last five years, enthusiasm for environmental spending has trended downwards, with 29% of Britons now seeing it as one of the areas of spending that most needs to be reduced, compared to 17% who believe it is one of the sectors where a spending increase is most necessary.’ Read more here.
