Our Scotland, Our Future: Public Engagement Strategy for Climate and Nature - FSD

Summary of evidence

Evidence, including from the Scottish Climate Survey in 2024, indicates a high level of public understanding of climate change and a high level of concern about the impacts of climate change. 72% of people surveyed regarded climate change as an immediate and urgent problem.

However, those living in more deprived areas, those with lower levels of income and non (university) graduates are less likely to have a high level of understanding. People in lower income groups are at greater risk from the impacts of climate change but were found to be less likely to engage in policy development.

The Scottish Climate Survey revealed, however, that awareness of Scotland’s biodiversity crisis is much lower with over three quarters of respondents (77%) saying they knew little or nothing about it. Even though there was a widespread lack of awareness, those who felt they knew at least a fair amount about climate change also tended to report higher levels of knowledge about the biodiversity crisis (28% compared to 19% overall).

Stakeholder engagement also highlighted that people in lower income groups are more likely to face barriers to taking climate and nature action due to financial constraints or access to suitable resources. Climate Survey findings support these concerns with respondents living in Scotland’s most deprived areas almost two and a half times more likely not to have spent time in green and blue spaces in the past month, compared to those in the least deprived areas.

Access to participation and events can also be more challenging for those from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds.