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The overall goal of public engagement

Everyone in the Isle of Man recognises the implications of climate change, fully understands and contributes to the Island’s response, embraces their role in the transition to net zero and are galvanised to take specific actions that deliver emissions reductions.

In order to deliver this effectively, it is important to firstly understand people’s views on climate change, as well as the barriers that they face that are hindering them from reducing their carbon footprint.

The Climate Change Team commissioned independent research into climate change perceptions, which was undertaken by market research company, Island Global Research.

1,319 people took part in the survey to elicit views on climate change and barriers to action in December 2021. The sample size gives a maximum margin of error of 2.7% with 95% confidence interval.

The data from this research will become the baseline for benchmarking behaviour change related to climate change in the coming years and will be monitored annually. The information will also be used to inform public communications and engagement, as well as highlight key areas where support is required.

Key highlights from the report:

There is broad belief about climate change and its impact on the Isle of Man

  • 97% believe that climate is changing
  • 58% indicated that climate change has already had an impact on the Isle of Man, while a further 14% who said that the impact will happen in their lifetime

Residents see climate change as an urgent threat and strongly support climate policies

  • 68% see climate change as a serious threat, support climate policies, motivated to do more.
  • 40% of them feel that this is an urgent issue that needs to be tackled now.

Majority of residents felt that the amount of carbon dioxide the Isle of Man produces matters

  • 65% disagreed that ‘from a global perspective, it doesn’t matter how much carbon the Isle of Man produces’
  • See here to understand  the Isle of Man greenhouse gas emissions. 

There is a strong sense of optimism that we can solve this crisis if we work together, and believe that they can help to make this positive change

  • 75% agreed that ‘if everyone does their bit, we can reduce the effects of climate change’.
  • Two-thirds (65%) believe that they have the ability to make changes in their life to reduce the impact of climate change.

There is also a strong sense of responsibility and belief that they should make personal changes to reduce emissions

  • 67% disagreed that ‘it is not worth doing things to help reduce climate change if others don’t do the same’.

Most people view climate action as a shared responsibility among government, public and businesses, and many also felt that the Government needs to lead the way.

  • 39% felt that there are equal responsibilities among the Government, public and businesses
  • 27% said that the Government was most responsible
  • 11% said it was the general public

There is a need for clear information and guidance to support residents to take action to reduce emissions

  • Almost half (44%) felt that ‘there is so much conflicting information, it is difficult to know what to do’
  • See here to find out actions you can do to contribute to emissions reduction.

Some residents are already changing their daily habits that can help to reduce emissions, and key motivations are cost and environment

  • Donating unwanted items to charity (43%), recycling/reusing items (43%), reducing energy use at home (41%), reducing food waste (40%), are top daily behaviours that residents say they have started doing in the last 12 months.
  • Their motivations are divided between saving money and the environment 

Residents are concerned about the impact of petrol and diesel motor vehicles

Many are considering switching to electric vehicles

  • 39% would consider between 1-5 years; key considerations are the cost of vehicles, cost of installing charging equipment at home and availability of public charging points
  • 23% would consider >5 years; key considerations are the cost of vehicles, cost of installing charging equipment at home and range of battery
  • Find out more about electric vehicles here.

Many homeowners are planning to make energy saving changes to their homes

There is huge support for climate policies

68% see climate change as a serious threat and are motivated to do more

Net Zero Isle of Man is a campaign managed by the Climate Change Transformation Team within the Department for Environment, Food & Agriculture (DEFA) of the Isle of Man Government.

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