Dr Katharine Steentjes was CAST Co-ordinator based at Cardiff University and mainly responsible for designing and delivering project 1.4 under Theme 1, which entailed multi-wave, multi-country surveys on public perceptions of climate change with a special focus on the Centre’s four areas of interest (material consumption, diet, mobility, thermal comfort). She was also involved with delivering project 4.1.
Her general research interest concerns social normative processes surrounding climate change and identifying opportunities to accelerate social shifts towards more sustainable lifestyles. Previously, she has worked on international research projects examining public perceptions of environmental risks (such as climate change), policy strategies, energy solutions and psychological factors underlying these views. As part of the Centre for Industrial Energy, Materials and Products (CIE-MAP) she examined public perceptions of low material/low carbon societal future, adopting a mixed method approach. In collaboration with colleagues from Germany, Norway and France and international stakeholders she led a cross-national survey on European perceptions of climate change (EPCC). Alongside her role at CAST, she worked on a UK Climate Resilience project (RESILRISK) that provides insights into public perceptions of climate change risks and identifies support for UK adaptation strategies. This project also tests the implications of different communication strategies on facilitating support for personal, community and national action to respond to/or prepare for the impacts of climate change.
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