Public Sceptical About Success Of Cop26, Research Finds

Britons are concerned that hypocrisy by politicians will affect the public's willingness to change their behaviour to tackle climate change - and doubt that Cop26 commitments can be met unless they are legally binding.

- Jessica Elgot

The opinions come from the latest in the Net Zero Diaries, a project run by the consultancy Britain Thinks to examine evolving attitudes to the pursuit of a net-zero emissions target, the first collation of public views from the cohort since the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow.

The focus group project involved 40 people keeping diaries of news ev and their everyday climate encounters, and hearing from a range of experts. Post-Cop26, many said it was the first climate summit they had engaged with. Several felt excited and hopeful” at the gathering of world leaders.

The researchers examining the diaries found that those who were originally less engaged on climate issues tended to believe Cop26 had been a resounding success because of the extensive coverage.

But even those who described themselves as having a strong interest in the environment were unable to name detailed specifics on what had been agreed on issues such as coal and deforestation.