European perceptions of climate change (EPCC): topline findings of a survey conducted in four European countries in 2016
This report summarises the topline findings of the European Perception of Climate Change Project (EPCC), a study that gives insights into public perceptions of climate change across four major European countries – France, Germany, Norway and the United Kingdom.
Research teams from each country and an International Stakeholder Advisory Panel collaboratively designed a theoretically grounded cross-national survey, providing directly comparable data, unique in its design and complexity. This report presents the results of the EPCC survey and discusses how public perceptions of climate change are shaped in each national context.
The survey aimed to:
- Identify the structure of climate change perceptions in France, Germany, Norway and the United Kingdom;
- Give insight into public engagement with climate change responses and policies, including energy generation options;
- Identify the role of individual socio-political values and other individual level factors; and
- Identify the role of contextual national socio-political factors in explaining public perceptions and engagement with climate change.
The survey provides baseline and comparative data that should help researchers and policymakers understand the structure of current attitudes to climate change in the countries surveyed, and through this to facilitate engagement and a closer dialogue on climate change issues between European citizens and climate scientists, businesses, governments, and representatives of the non-governmental sector respectively.