Words by Bella Zanin, Knowledge Exchange Associate
Underestimating other people’s concern and support for action holds us back from tackling climate change. Why do we get this stuff wrong? And what can we do about it? CAST’s Bella Zanin explores how smart communications and public engagement can help – but might not be sufficient on their own.
Paying to fix climate change
Would you give 1% of your personal income to fight climate change? What proportion of people worldwide do you think would be willing to make that donation? These questions were asked to almost 130,000 people across 125 countries in a 2024 research study.
The answer is 69%. Over two-thirds of the global population say they would contribute a proportion of their household income to help tackle global warming. If you find that surprisingly high, you’re far from alone. That’s because we massively underestimate other people’s climate concern and willingness to take climate action. In the study, people estimated that only 43% of their fellow respondents would make the financial contribution – a 26% perception gap.
Similar results have been reported elsewhere. A 2025 study found that people across 11 countries underestimated how much others know about climate change, in some places by up to 21%. In the UK, polling by Climate Barometer reveals that individuals and politicians repeatedly underestimate public support for a host of climate policies including: the nation’s Net Zero target; technologies such as onshore wind, solar power and pylons; and even low-traffic neighbourhoods. In other words, many people don’t realise how popular climate solutions are.
‘Pluralistic ignorance’
This phenomenon – that people consistently underestimate other people’s levels of concern about climate change and their support for climate action – is well-documented. It’s called ‘pluralistic ignorance’ (read: being ignorant of the views of the many) or, sometimes, ‘perception gaps’.
So what? Why does this matter? Because our behaviour is heavily influenced by what other people do and what we think they approve of. That’s partly because we want to fit in (it’s an evolutionary survival tactic) and partly because we want things to be fair (‘why should I make an effort if nobody else is?’).
In environmental contexts, this means we’re more likely to support climate action and adopt sustainable behaviours if we think other people are doing these things. Indeed, research shows that just knowing somebody with a heat pump makes us more likely to consider getting one ourselves. On the flip-side, if we think others don’t care or aren’t taking action (due to pluralistic ignorance), we are less likely to care and act ourselves. The Government’s official climate advisors make it clear that further and faster electrification of the UK’s energy system is needed, with a focus on EVs, heat pumps and industrial energy. The headline recommendations to the Government are to make electricity cheaper and reduce the ‘hassle’ around electric technologies (for example, by installing more on-street EV charge points).
Several houses on a residential street with red-tiled roofs, each equipped with solar panels.
Pluralistic ignorance also has the capacity to influence legislation – because if politicians underestimate public support for climate action, they will think twice about introducing ‘controversial’ climate policies that would actually be popular.
Why do we underestimate other people’s concern and support?
The narrative that ‘most people don’t really care about climate change’ might have arisen for a number of reasons. First, a lot of our progress on emissions reduction to date hasn’t required public action or discussion. It’s come from boosting wind and solar capacity and phasing out coal power stations. Because these things have happened ‘in the background’ (i.e. haven’t affected the way most people live their lives), they haven’t required (or put on display) explicit and obvious public support.
The narrative is also self-fulfilling. Over half of British adults rarely or never share their views on climate change with people in their day-to-day life, with climate conversations between strangers being even rarer. If nobody talks about climate change because they think other people don’t want to talk about climate change, we end up in a ‘spiral of silence’ which reinforces the (incorrect) notion that nobody cares.
On top of that, high-profile voices and media coverage can influence which views are considered mainstream. Most people are supportive of climate action. Almost 9 in 10 people globally want stronger Government action on climate issues, with 8 in 10 supporting taxing oil and gas companies to pay for climate damages. In the UK, there is widespread support for reducing emissions and switching to clean energy. However, when anti-net-zero narratives are published in mainstream media and pushed by high-profile leaders, people’s perceptions of popular opinion get skewed.
How to tackle this widespread misperception
So, if the issue is that we mistakenly think nobody else cares about climate action, then the solution is to show that other people do care and are taking action. Smart communications and public engagement can help us do this. For example, campaigns that tell human stories and show normal people taking (and benefiting from) climate action can shift social norms and build momentum for collective action. Discussion and portrayal of environmental choices in TV shows and sports coverage similarly makes such behaviours more prominent, part of the fabric of everyday life.
Activities – like citizens assemblies and community film screenings – that bring people together and enable them to exchange views can boost participants’ motivation to act. Having informal climate conversations with friends, family and colleagues, as well as ‘everyday influencers’ such as hairdressers, taxi drivers, tradespeople and healthcare professionals (who are trusted messengers in their communities), can make climate action more visible and legitimate too.
A gathering for a screening of the National Emergency Briefing in the Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff, UK.
The behaviour of high-profile individuals is also important. When politicians and celebrities lead by example with low-carbon choices, members of the public are more willing to do the same. Increased perceptions of leader credibility, trustworthiness, competence and favourability are handy by-products of such behaviours from leaders.
There is a final point here which isn’t about communications and engagement, but about the design of policies and initiatives. Whilst campaigns, conversations and conspicuous behaviour can help to normalise caring about climate change and taking action, sustainable behaviours also need to be made more convenient, accessible, affordable and beneficial through better infrastructure, finances, regulations and incentives. These things don’t only determine which behaviours become prominent in everyday life, but also signal societal priorities, in turn influencing social norms.
So what should I do?
The good news is that everyone can help normalise caring about, talking about and acting on climate change. Chat to your friends about it – you don’t have to be a climate expert, you just have to be honest about what you’re seeing with your own eyes or what changes you’re making in your own life, and how it’s making you feel. (See these top tips from Climate Outreach on having climate conversations.)
If you’re a campaigner, communicator or media professional, is there a way you could integrate environmental issues (and solutions) into the stories you’re already telling, stories people already care about? And if you’re designing climate policies and initiatives, consider the practical barriers that make climate action difficult for people and work to break them down. If we can unmask and facilitate the country’s genuine, widespread desire for change, the idea that climate solutions are too unpopular to pursue might start to lose its grip.
Let’s not let the sceptics dominate the narrative and convince us that others don’t care. Most people do care and do want climate action, and knowing this empowers us to raise our voices and take positive action.
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