Most UK adults don't know what carbon offsetting is, though some suspect it is a process linked to fizzy drinks, according to an exclusive survey released today to GU Environment by the British Market Research Bureau.
Some 55% of survey respondents had either never heard of carbon offsetting, or had heard the name but didn't know anything about it. When asked which term best described carbon offsetting, 66% were unable to give an accurate definition.
One in five said it was "the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere" while 19% selected "a chemical process which neutralises carbon dioxide gas before it is released into the atmosphere". Some 2% of respondents thought carbon offsetting was a "new technique that eases trapped wind caused by carbonated/fizzy drinks".Only 15% of survey respondents said they knew "a lot" or "a fair amount" about carbon offsetting. Despite high-profile support for carbon offsetting from pop groups such as Coldplay, awareness was lower among 15 to 24-year-olds, with 51% saying they had never heard of it.
Carbon offsetting involves individuals or companies attempting to compensate for their contribution to global warming. Examples include planting trees, pumping greenhouse gases underground and setting up green energy projects abroad. Critics say the schemes are guilt-absolving, but others feel they are important to try to compensate for damage done to the planet.
Only 1% of Britons told researchers they had ever paid into a carbon offsetting programme.
Yet according to the survey most people do seem concerned about the environment. More than 60% of respondents disagreed with the statement "changing our lifestyles will make no difference to climate change, we might as well enjoy ourselves".
Less than a third agreed that "it's the government's job to tackle climate change not mine as an individual". Some 85% said they felt that business should be doing more to tackle climate change.
In addition, 57% of adults said they were either "fairly" or "very" willing to halve their number of car journeys, while 62% said they would be willing to take no more than one flight abroad a year for a holiday or weekend break.
Sue Welland from the offsetting company CarbonNeutral said the findings showed that awareness of green issues had risen considerably over the last 10 years. "[Now] the job is to resist all the jargon that is emerging and to communicate in everyday language how and why carbon offsetting works."
The BMRB survey was carried out among 1,017 people aged 15 and over
Some 55% of survey respondents had either never heard of carbon offsetting, or had heard the name but didn't know anything about it. When asked which term best described carbon offsetting, 66% were unable to give an accurate definition.
One in five said it was "the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere" while 19% selected "a chemical process which neutralises carbon dioxide gas before it is released into the atmosphere". Some 2% of respondents thought carbon offsetting was a "new technique that eases trapped wind caused by carbonated/fizzy drinks".Only 15% of survey respondents said they knew "a lot" or "a fair amount" about carbon offsetting. Despite high-profile support for carbon offsetting from pop groups such as Coldplay, awareness was lower among 15 to 24-year-olds, with 51% saying they had never heard of it.
Carbon offsetting involves individuals or companies attempting to compensate for their contribution to global warming. Examples include planting trees, pumping greenhouse gases underground and setting up green energy projects abroad. Critics say the schemes are guilt-absolving, but others feel they are important to try to compensate for damage done to the planet.
Only 1% of Britons told researchers they had ever paid into a carbon offsetting programme.
Yet according to the survey most people do seem concerned about the environment. More than 60% of respondents disagreed with the statement "changing our lifestyles will make no difference to climate change, we might as well enjoy ourselves".
Less than a third agreed that "it's the government's job to tackle climate change not mine as an individual". Some 85% said they felt that business should be doing more to tackle climate change.
In addition, 57% of adults said they were either "fairly" or "very" willing to halve their number of car journeys, while 62% said they would be willing to take no more than one flight abroad a year for a holiday or weekend break.
Sue Welland from the offsetting company CarbonNeutral said the findings showed that awareness of green issues had risen considerably over the last 10 years. "[Now] the job is to resist all the jargon that is emerging and to communicate in everyday language how and why carbon offsetting works."
The BMRB survey was carried out among 1,017 people aged 15 and over
1 comment:
Dear EaRth wArrlor+
Thanks for this...
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Julian
www.ijulian.blogspot.com
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