getty The vast majority of Europeans and Americans are aware that climate change is happening and that human activities are causing it, according to a new report published today. But ‘false balance’ in media coverage has left them with the impression that there is scientific debate about whether humans are causing climate change.
The Open Society European Policy Institute surveyed people about the existence, causes and impact of climate change in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Poland, Czechia, the U.K. and the U.S. Overall, only 10% of respondents said they do not accept that human activities have a role in climate change, with the largest amounts found in Sweden and the United States.
But significant minorities in all countries believe scientists are equally divided on the causes of global warming – including two-thirds of people in Czechia and nearly half in the U.K.. In reality, 97% of climate scientists agree that humans have caused recent global warming.
“Citizens across Europe and the U.S. are still unclear about how overwhelming the scientific consensus is that humans are responsible for climate change,” says Open Society director Heather Grabbe. “Though outright denialism is rare, there is a widespread false belief, deliberately manufactured […]
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