Climate change perceptions and actions survey: wave 1 and 2 (summary)

The Climate Change Perceptions and Actions survey was commissioned by the Welsh Government to understand the public's attitudes and behaviours related to tackling climate change. It will be conducted in six biannual waves with up to 1,000 interviews each. This summary report presents the results of the first two survey waves. Findings between both waves were largely similar but where notable differences exist, these have been outlined in the relevant paragraph. The questionnaire is designed to cover six topics related to reducing carbon emissions: demographics, perceptions and attitudes, home energy, food, daily life, and travel.

The samples of both waves of the survey were broadly representative of the population of Wales based on age, male and female, ethnicity, work status, and household income. Minor variations were observed for location, occupation, tenure, and property type. The fieldwork for Wave 1 took place in August and September 2023, with a response rate of 6.9%. The fieldwork for Wave 2 took place in February and March 2024, with a response rate of 6.0%. The data was collected online and face to face.

Female survey respondents were younger than male survey respondents. Younger respondents tended to live in the centre of a large city or town, whilst older respondents tended to live in the suburbs of a large city or town, or the countryside or a small village.

Respondents who had a skilled trade occupation were more likely to be living in the countryside or a small village.

A large proportion of respondents did not state their household income. This group tended to be older, live in the countryside or a small village, often had a skilled trade, and tended to own their home outright.

Across all respondents there was general agreement that climate change was happening and that the main cause was human activity.

Male respondents were more likely to believe that climate change is not happening, or it is caused by natural processes, than female respondents. Male respondents were also less worried about the effects of climate change than female respondents. Male respondents also said they had more knowledge of Net Zero, Net Zero targets, and the Welsh Government’s Green Choices than female respondents.

By area type, those in more rural area types said that the general public and local groups had less responsibility for tackling climate change than respondents living in other area types.

Younger respondents were more worried about climate change than respondents from other age groups. They also assigned higher levels of responsibility across different societal groups than other age groups, suggesting a view that there should be more collective responsibility for tackling climate change. However, slight differences were identified between Wave 1 and 2, with younger respondents in Wave 1 assigning higher levels of responsibility for tackling climate change to the General Public, the Local Community and their Council, than those in Wave 2.

Respondents who were students said they knew the most about Net Zero, Net Zero targets and the Welsh Government’s Green Choices.

Over three quarters of all respondents paid their energy bill by direct debit. These respondents tended to be employed and owned their own home. Unemployed respondents and those renting their accommodation were more likely to use a pre-payment meter.

Nearly all respondents said they had taken at least one step to save energy, regardless of the reason for doing so. A lower proportion of respondents living in the countryside or a small village were employing energy saving actions than those living elsewhere, such as waiting later in the year to turn on heating, or reducing boiler flow temperature. This was also the case for respondents who preferred not to say their household income, two-fifths of whom were living in the countryside or a small village. This difference in energy saving actions by area type tended to be less pronounced in Wave 2, i.e. those living in the countryside were more similar in their energy saving actions to those living in other area types, compared to Wave 1.

A greater proportion of respondents with higher household incomes had energy efficient measures in their home than those with lower household incomes, especially smart lighting and heating measures.

Dairy products were the most frequently consumed food type by all respondents with fish and red meat the least frequently consumed. Respondents with higher household incomes consumed fruit and vegetables more frequently than respondents from other household income groups. Respondents aged between 18 and 34 consumed white meat more frequently and dairy and fruit and vegetables less frequently than older respondents.

Respondents aged 65 and over said they threw away less food and recycled food waste more regularly than respondents from other age groups.

Aside from composting food waste, respondents who lived in the countryside or small village undertook fewer sustainable food practices than those living in other area types, such as planning meals in advance, or checking that food is stored correctly to help it last longer. This difference in sustainable food practices by area type tended to be less pronounced in Wave 2, i.e. those living in the countryside were more similar in their sustainable food practices to those living in other area types, compared to Wave 1.

The three most common sustainable practices for all respondents were donating or selling unwanted items, recycling unwanted items, and using reusable products. Female respondents undertook more sustainable practices than male respondents.

For almost all the sustainable practices a greater proportion of respondents with higher household income were undertaking them in comparison to those with lower household income. Respondents who preferred not to state their household income had the lowest response proportions for all sustainable practices. This group of respondents were typically older, lived in the countryside or a small village, and owned their own accommodation.

The majority of all respondents lived in a household with access to at least one vehicle. A lower proportion of respondents who had a household income of up to £19,999 or were unemployed had access to a vehicle in comparison to other groups. Respondents with higher household incomes had access to more vehicles, more hybrid and electric vehicles, cycled more frequently, travelled by plane more often and took more holidays than other respondents.

In Wave 2 slightly more respondents from lower household income groups said they had travelled by plane than in Wave 1.

Respondents who lived in the countryside or a small village were less likely to have adopted sustainable travel practices than those living in other area types, such as using public transport where possible or car sharing than those living in other area types, though this difference was less pronounced in Wave 2, i.e. those living in the countryside were more similar in their sustainable travel practices to those living in other area types, compared to Wave 1.

Several limitations should be borne in mind when considering the Wave 1 and 2 survey results.

Firstly, the survey analysis was bivariate, meaning it only considered the relationship between two variables at a time. This approach does not capture how multiple factors may interact to influence individuals' attitudes and behaviours around climate change. It is possible that observed associations between demographic variables and climate change attitudes or behaviours could be explained by confounding variables. 

Second, the survey results were not weighted to reflect the broader population. This means the findings may not be representative of the general public's attitudes and behaviours.

The survey also relied on respondents' self-reported attitudes and behaviours, which may be subject to bias or exaggeration. In addition, self-reported views may have been influenced by the media environment at the time of the survey.

A final consideration is the reliance on these early survey waves for drawing conclusions. This increases the risk that any observed relationships could be due to chance and limits the ability to track changes over time or to affirm the stability of the observed attitudes and behaviours. Repeated measurements, as will be provided from future survey waves, are required to determine whether the identified relationships are stable or subject to fluctuation over time.

Report authors: Colin Wright

Views expressed in this report are those of the researchers and not necessarily those of the Welsh Government.

For further information please contact:
Laura Entwistle
Social Research and Information Division
Knowledge and Analytical Services
Welsh Government
Cathays Park
Cardiff
CF10 3NQ
Email: ClimateAndEnvironmentResearch@gov.wales

Social research number: 12/2025
Digital ISBN 978-1-83715-192-9

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