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Public Attitudes to the Environment in Scotland

3.3 BARRIERS TO SOLVING ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS AND POTENTIAL MECHANISMS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

Respondents were presented with a series of statements about potential 'major barriers' to solving environmental problems and asked the extent to which they agreed or disagreed with each. They were also presented with ways of paying for environmental protection, and again asked the extent to which they agreed or disagreed with the viewpoints presented.

3.3.1 Barriers to solving environmental problems

The major barriers to solving environmental problems were seen to be 'getting people to change their behaviour' (91% agreed) and 'getting businesses and industry to take the environment seriously' (88% agreed). Eight in ten people (78%) agreed that 'getting governments to prioritise the environment' was a major barrier to solving environmental problems and seven in ten felt that 'raising the money needed' to pay for measures and 'getting international agreement on what to do' were (71% and 67% respectively). Only a third of people (35%) felt that 'not having the scientific knowledge to know what to do' was a major barrier to solving environmental problems, and just a quarter agreed with the statement 'many environmental problems cannot be solved, but must be lived with'.

[Table 3.21 and Figure 3.5]

Sample size for each row = 4,119

Men and women held very similar views on barriers to environmental protection, however there was some variation by age and education (Tables 3.22 and 3.23). The various potential barriers were prioritised in the same order for those in all age groups however the strength of opinions varied. It can be seen that for most of the statements, those in the youngest and oldest age groups had similar levels of agreement and were less likely to agree with the statement than those in the middle two age groups. For example, 61% and 60% of those in the youngest and oldest age groups respectively agreed that 'getting international agreement on what to do' was a major barrier to solving environmental problems, as did 71% and 70% of those in the middle two age groups. There were two exceptions to this pattern; the belief that 'many environmental problems can't be solved but have to be lived with', increased steadily with age so that the oldest group were notably more likely to think this than the youngest (32% compared with 22%). Those in the youngest age group were less likely to view 'not having the scientific knowledge to know what to do' as a barrier to solving environmental problems than other age groups.

Turning now to look at the relationship between these views and respondents' highest educational qualification, for four statements, the proportion of people agreeing increased among those with higher qualifications (Table 3.23). For two items - the view that a lack of scientific knowledge is a barrier to environmental protection, and the view that we cannot solve many environmental problems - the pattern was reversed. The proportion of respondents agreeing with each of these statements was highest among those with no qualifications beyond O grade. The proportion of people who thought that raising money was a major barrier to solving environmental problems varied far less by education.

Agreement with most of these statements also varied significantly by tenure. More respondents living in social rented housing agreed with the view that many environmental problems cannot be solved (30% compared with 25% of owner occupiers and 15% of private renters). For four of the other statements social renters were less likely than the other groups to agree with the proposition. The proportion of respondents agreeing that a lack of scientific knowledge or raising money are major barriers to environmental protection did not vary by tenure (table not shown).

Those who were 'responsibility takers' over the need for people in Scotland to change their lifestyles were more likely to identify with each of the barriers suggested - except the fact that environmental problems cannot be solved - than were those who did not believe they personally had to make changes (Table 3.24). For example, 76% of the 'responsibility takers' thought that getting international agreement on what to do was a major barrier, as did 65% of the 'responsibility elsewheres', and 45% of the 'status quos'.

Regression analyses were run to identify which factors were significantly related to views on three of the barriers to solving environmental problems, once the inter-relationships with other characteristics were controlled for. The results are shown in Figure 3.6 and highlight that in each case, the most important characteristic was educational attainment. When views on changing lifestyles were included as a factor in the models, this became the most significant factor ahead of education for two of the measures.

*Pensioners, single parents and single adults were least likely to agree and small and large adult households and families were most likely to agree.

3.3.2 Paying for environmental protection

Respondents were also asked their views on how environmental protection might be paid for (Table 3.25). Strongest support was found for the 'polluter pays' principle, that 'those who pollute the environment should be made to pay for any damage done' (93% of people agreed). The next most popular idea brought in the idea of legislation, 'Industry should be prevented from causing damage to the environment- even if this results in higher prices' (73% agreed). Under half of those surveyed agreed with the other two suggestions - 'The Scottish Executive should find money to protect the environment by spending less on other things' (46%), and 'We should find the money to protect the environment by being prepared to pay higher taxes' (42% agreed). Respondents were also asked about the trade off between environmental protection and job creation; 'New jobs should be created even if this sometimes causes damage to the environment'. In total a quarter of people agreed with this statement and half disagreed.

Sample size for each row = 4,119

Considering who held these various viewpoints, there were small variations by sex and age and more dramatic variations by education status and tenure group (Table 3.26).

Willingness to accept price increases for the sake of environmental protection, and to pay more taxes to this end, increased among those with higher qualifications. For example, 57% of those with professional qualifications or degrees were willing to pay higher taxes to protect the environment compared with 34% of those with no qualifications. Those with higher qualifications were less likely to agree that jobs should be created even if this causes damage to the environment. For the other measures there was little variation in relation to educational status.

Social renters had significantly different views from owner occupiers and private renters on most of the factors. They were less likely than the other groups to be willing to tolerate price rises as a result of industry being prevented from causing environmental damage. They were also less likely to favour the Scottish Executive spending less on other things to protect the environment and to support paying more taxes to protect the environment. This group most strongly supported the view that jobs should be created even if this would result in some environmental damage (31%).

Those who took the view that they personally need to change their way of life, were more likely than others to support increasing taxes (49%) and preventing industry causing environmental damage even if this results in higher prices (83%). The 'status quo' group were particularly likely to take the view that the Scottish Executive should protect the environment by spending less on other things (69% compared with 47% of those who thought they and others should change their lifestyles).

Regression analysis was again undertaken to identify which of the above variables remained significant once the effects of the other variables were controlled for. The results are shown in Figure 3.7 and confirm the importance of education in explaining who held different views.

3.4 AWARENESS OF ORGANISATIONS WORKING TO PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT AND VIEWS ON THEIR PERFORMANCE

Having explored some of the ways in which individuals can and do protect the environment, and views on barriers to such protection, views towards some organisations which have a role in environmental protection in Scotland are now considered. Respondents were asked which of a list of organisations they had heard of. Table 3.27 shows that nine in ten people or more had heard of each of the three voluntary or membership organisations on the list; Greenpeace (95%), the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) (92%), and Friends of the Earth (90%). Over eight in ten people had heard of two Government Agencies, the Forestry Commission (88%) and Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) (82%). Two thirds had heard of another Government Agency, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) (65%). Only four in ten people had heard of the final organisation on the list; the Scottish Landowners Federation (SLF).

Respondents were asked how good they thought each organisation was at protecting the environment. It is worth noting however, that they were not asked questions to gauge their understanding of what the different organisations do. Voluntary or membership organisations were seen as best at protecting the environment. Almost a quarter of respondents (23%) described them as very good and a further 52% as good. Government agencies were next in line with two thirds of people saying they were good or very good. The Scottish Executive and Local Councils were perceived as being least good at protecting the environment in Scotland with just under a quarter of respondents describing each as good or very good. Between one and two in ten people said they did not have a view on the performance of each type of organisation. People were more likely to take a view on the performance of voluntary/ membership organisations than the Scottish Executive's environmental performance. Further questions on the role for different bodies in environmental protection are reported on in Chapter 7.

[Table 3.28 and Figure 3.6]

Looking at the distribution of views among different sections of the population, reveals some interesting variations (Table 3.27). Recall of the various Governmental organisations increased with age among those aged between 16 and 64 and then declined again among those aged 65+. For example, 52% of 16-24 year olds had heard of SEPA compared with 73% of those aged 45-64 and 60% of those aged 65+. This pattern was less marked when looking at awareness of the voluntary/ membership organisations. The main variation in views on the performance of the various organisations in relation to age was in the proportion of people who did not express a view on how well a type of organisation was at protecting the environment. Younger people were more likely to say they did not know than older people. Awareness of SEPA and the SLF was higher among men than women, but the perceived performance of the different types of organisations did not vary notably by sex.

Awareness of the various organisations increased among those with higher qualifications. Those with higher educational qualifications were also more likely to rate the performance of voluntary/ membership organisations and government agencies highly (Table 3.29). People living in social rented housing had less awareness of each type of organisation than private renters, who in turn had less awareness than owner occupiers. Those in social rented housing also had slightly lower opinions of voluntary and government agencies than those in private rented housing or owner occupiers (table not shown).

* For example, SNH, SEPA, Forestry Commission

* For example, SNH, SEPA, Forestry Commission

3.5 SUMMARY

• Just over a quarter of people in Scotland had heard of the term 'sustainable development'.

• Only 2% of respondents gave a definition of 'sustainable development' which showed they had a good understanding of the term. This proportion rose to 5% among young people aged 16-24 and 7% among those with degrees or professional qualifications.

• Three quarters of people in Scotland agreed with the statement 'Most people in Scotland today need to change their way of life so that future generations can continue to enjoy a good quality of life and environment'.

• The proportion who agreed most people need to change their way of life for these reasons rose to eight in ten of those aged 25-64 and 85% of those with a degree or professional qualification

• Just under half the respondents believed they personally need to change their way of life so that future generations can continue to enjoy a good quality of life and environment (47%).

• Those least likely to believe they needed to change their way of life were those aged 65+ (13% agreed), those with no educational qualifications (29%) and social renters (36%).

• Nine in ten people saw 'getting people to change their behaviour' as a major barrier to solving environmental problems and a similar proportion thought 'getting businesses and industry to take the environment seriously' was a major barrier.

• Far fewer thought that 'not having the scientific knowledge to know what to do' was a major barrier to solving environmental problems (35%) and only a quarter agreed that 'many environmental problems cannot be solved - we just have to live with them'.

• Over nine in ten people agreed with the statement 'Those who pollute the environment should be made to pay for any damage done'.

• Just over four in ten agreed 'We should find the money to protect the environment by being prepared to pay higher taxes'.

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