Less than half of Laois population understands what causes climate change

Less than half of the population of Laois understands that climate change is caused by humans, according to new research by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 

This week the EPA released  interactive maps of Ireland that show national, regional, and county-level data about people’s climate change beliefs, attitudes, policy preferences and behaviours. 

In Laois just 48% of the county's population believe that climate change is caused by humans, based on data collected in 2023. That is one of lowest rates in the state along with counties Donegal, Leitrim, Sligo, Mayo, and Monaghan.

For residents in Laois 57% feel climate change is personally important to them. 88% think climate change is affecting weather in Ireland and 77% think climate change should be a priority of the Government of Ireland. 

According to the EPA just 31% of the county's population know that Ireland's agriculture sector is the largest source of pollution that causes climate change.

Meanwhile 52% of the population in Laois support banning peat coal and oil for home heating.  The research shows that 76% claim to know a lot about climate change. 

Speaking about the new climate change opinion maps, Dr Eimear Cotter, Director of the Office of Evidence & Assessment said: “These maps show nationwide acceptance of the scientific consensus on climate change, and strong support for most climate action policies, with minimal variation based on where people live, and that most climate attitudes were resilient in the face of cost-of-living increases. However, we also see that public understanding of the causes of climate change is limited and varies between counties. In some counties, less than half of the population understands that climate change is human caused, compared to about six in ten in other areas.

"While the overall picture of support for climate action is high and largely consistent across the country, there are slight regional variations in the level of support for some policies such as the banning of peat, coal, and oil for home heating. Support is highest in urban areas, and weakest in the North-West and border regions. A similar pattern is evident for policies to increase taxes on cars that use petrol and diesel.

"People tend to be worried about known region-specific risks from climate change. For instance, a higher percentage of people are worried about water shortages in Dublin and the Mid-East region than the rest of the country. However, water pollution remains a widespread worry for eight in ten people across all counties."

Speaking about the maps, Dr Tara Higgins, Programme Manager, EPA Evidence Programme said: “It is encouraging to see that most people across all parts of Ireland believe we have a collective responsibility to act on climate change. It will be important to understand and address people’s concerns about some climate action policies – such as moving away from fossil fuelled transport and home heating. These latest climate opinion maps are a valuable resource for climate policy decision-makers, researchers, the media, non-governmental organizations, and students. We encourage people to use these maps to explore opinions on climate change and worries about climate risks in their own county and region.”