Just 59 per cent of people who responded to the survey believe that human activity is the primary cause of climate change.

While 86% believe human activity plays at least some role, this remains one of the lowest levels of belief in Europe, placing Northern Ireland just above Slovakia and Lithuania – and below the UK average of 90% and 88% in Ireland.

Despite this, public concern remains high, with 8 out of 10 respondents viewing climate change as a serious threat to human civilisation. The majority support stronger international cooperation and political action to address it, with three quarters of respondents wanting to see local politicians elected in their constituency do more to tackle climate change.  

The survey from ARK, a joint Queen’s and Ulster University initiative, also found that Northern Ireland respondents have lower levels of trust in scientific expertise on climate change than those in similar surveys in the rest of the UK, Ireland or elsewhere in Europe.

The NILT survey is an annual survey recording public attitudes to key social issues. In 2024, 1,199 adults aged 18 years or over gave their opinion on issues affecting their lives, including criminal justice system; integrated education; adult safeguarding; skills and training needs; relationships with different communities living here; and gender-based violence. The latest research on climate change was carried out by Professor Katy Hayward and Dr Jonny Hanson from Queen’s.

Other key findings include:

• Men are less likely than women to feel personally responsible or support political action to address climate change.
• Younger people (18 - 34 years) are less likely to feel a sense of personal responsibility to address climate change.
• Leave-voters are more likely to be sceptical and less concerned than Remain-voters.
• There are no major differences between rural and urban dwellers on the topic of climate change, although the former are less likely to trust scientific experts on the topic.

Professor Katy Hayward said: “The Climate Change Act (2022) marked a significant step for the Northern Ireland Assembly but whether it actually leads to the necessary political action depends in part on public demand to see politicians uphold their commitments. This NILT data shows us that not only are most people in Northern Ireland (82%) concerned that climate change poses a serious threat to nothing less than the future of human civilisation, they actively want to see local politicians do more to tackle it.”

Dr Jonny Hanson commented: “This data is a reminder that tackling climate change is as much a societal endeavour as a technical one. Our attitudes to climate change in Northern Ireland will shape how we address it.”

Dr Paula Devine from Queen’s University Belfast and Director of the NILT survey commented: “For over 25 years, the Northern Ireland Life and Times survey has been recording public attitudes to key social issues affecting our lives. Understanding what people think is vital to addressing the climate crisis now and in the future.”

The Northern Ireland Life and Times (NILT) Survey on attitudes to climate change is available here: https://www.ark.ac.uk/ARK/nilt/  

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