Talking Green Ireland

Policy Study

This is the Irish instalment of the ‘Talking Green’ research project exploring perceptions of climate action across Europe.

It is based on a survey of 1,010 respondents conducted in the summer of 2021. The research attempts to understand how climate action is viewed by the Irish public when compared to other pressing priorities, the hopes or fears that climate action evokes and the most effective messaging to communicate the crisis and the necessary response.

The survey also explored levels of trust, which will be essential for a stable transition to zero-carbon societies. Finally, the questionnaire sought to understand the appetite among the public for bottom-up initiatives that would be community-led.

Key findings of the survey include:

• Climate change is not considered a top priority by the public.
• Climate change is not the main priority for young people.
• There are class divisions in terms of prioritisation of climate change, but they are not very pronounced.
• The farming community show the most substantial de-prioritisation of climate action
• Politicians suffer from a lack of trust on issues of national importance.
• A majority of respondents indicated that they were concerned that the policies implemented to tackle climate change would make their lives harder.

About the Talking Green research project

‘Talking Green’ is a research project that explores perceptions of climate actions across Europe, through surveys in:

• Hungary
• Ireland
• UK

It develops an understanding of how the green transition is perceived especially by low- and middle-income people.

The collected data allow progressives to find the most effective ways to talk about climate change and develop participatory and effective policy proposals that address climate change while delivering a just transition that is aligned with people’s concerns.

This project is run by FEPS, in partnership with the Fabian Society, TASC, the Szociális Demokráciáért Intézet and the Progressive Hungary Foundation.