Key Scottish Environment Statistics 2009
Annual publication containing summary of key statistics on environmental trends in Scotland
Public Attitudes
Perceived Significant Environmental Problems: 2008
What is the most significant environmental problem? Other environmental problems?
(percentage of respondents)
Percentage of respondents
Environmental issue |
most significant problem |
other problems |
|---|---|---|
Climate change / global warming / greenhouse effect / melting ice |
27 |
14 |
Household waste / disposal |
7 |
11 |
CO 2 emissions |
7 |
8 |
Changes in weather / freak weather |
7 |
12 |
Consumption / wasting natural resources |
6 |
9 |
Pollution from road traffic / congestion |
4 |
10 |
Pollution from factories / industry |
4 |
10 |
Heavy traffic |
3 |
5 |
Carbon footprint / carbon offsetting |
3 |
5 |
Recycling |
3 |
4 |
The Scottish Environmental Attitudes and Behaviours Survey 2008 1 included a question to gauge which specific environmental issues are most prominent in the public mind. Respondents were asked (unprompted): a) what they considered to be the 'most significant' environmental problem these days; and b) what they saw as 'other' environmental problems. 2
Climate change was by far the most common response - 41% of respondents in total mentioned the issue, and 27% identified it as the single most significant environmental issue. The next highest ranking issues were: changing weather patterns (mentioned by 19% overall), household waste (18%), CO 2 emissions (15%), and over-consumption (15%). It could be argued that all of these issues are in some way related to climate change. Overall, 53% of respondents mentioned climate change, CO 2 emissions or carbon footprint.
The Scottish Parliament passed the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 3 with the aim of reducing Scotland's emissions by 80% by 2050. This includes all greenhouse gases.
Source: Scottish Government
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