Acting on climate change concerns: lay perceptions of possibility, complexity and constraint

Irwin, Sarah; Wright, Katy

doi:10.1080/23251042.2024.2359765

Environmental Sociology

2024

DOI: 10.1080/23251042.2024.2359765

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Acting on climate change concerns: lay perceptions of possibility, complexity and constraint

Sarah Irwin,

Katy Wright

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2024

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Cited by 2 publications

References 31 publications

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Place‐based and people‐centred: Principles for a socially inclusive Net Zero transition

Middlemiss,

Snell,

Theminimulle

et al. 2024

Geography and Environment

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The transition to Net Zero marks a radical reshaping of many aspects of everyday life in the effort to reduce human‐caused climate change. It also has the potential to influence positively a number of social challenges: improving public health, reducing the effects of poverty, increasing well‐being and bringing neighbourhoods together. However, these positive outcomes are by no means a given. Households on low incomes are less resilient than ever following austerity, COVID‐19 and the cost‐of‐living crisis. In this paper, we report on research undertaken in seven low‐income neighbourhoods in Leeds and Newcastle in the UK, in which we ran a series of workshops to understand perspectives and concerns on this issue. We found that people's perceived ability to engage in Net Zero was shaped by the neighbourhood they live in (due to its geographical location, local services and infrastructure), their housing (the building and its tenure) and household (the people they live with) as well as by their inability to access funds. It is clear from our data that people have big concerns about their ability to participate in the substantial changes they can see ahead. Our research suggests that ensuring a successful Net Zero transition for low‐income neighbourhoods will require a place‐based and people‐centred approach. We conclude by offering three principles for tailoring research and policy to specific geographic and socio‐economic needs, including (1) recognising patterns of difference and their spatial and social roots, (2) bringing whole life experiences into narratives of the future and (3) prioritising social inclusion in climate policy.

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Place‐based and people‐centred: Principles for a socially inclusive Net Zero transition

Middlemiss,

Snell,

Theminimulle

et al. 2024

Geography and Environment

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The Role of Cynicism in Social Responses to the Climate Emergency

Davidson

2024

Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World

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Cynicism poses a potentially formidable barrier to personal and collective investments in addressing the climate emergency that has yet to receive substantive research attention. In this article, the results of a qualitative study involving interviews with 74 participants in Canada and the United States regarding personal perspectives on climate change are presented. Several different forms of cynicism were expressed across the sample, including media cynicism, government cynicism, policy cynicism, political economy cynicism, human nature cynicism, and science cynicism. Using cooccurrence analysis, cynicism was found to be strongly associated with confidence in societal response to the climate emergency, and personal feelings of powerlessness. Although not the most prevalent cynicism code, political economy cynicism had the strongest level of cooccurrence with low response confidence and powerlessness. The implications for research and praxis are discussed.

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Acting on climate change concerns: lay perceptions of possibility, complexity and constraint

Cited by 2 publications

References 31 publications

Place‐based and people‐centred: Principles for a socially inclusive Net Zero transition

Place‐based and people‐centred: Principles for a socially inclusive Net Zero transition

The Role of Cynicism in Social Responses to the Climate Emergency

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