Climate change acceptance

Q. Do you believe that there is fairly conclusive evidence that climate change is happening and caused by human activity or do you believe that the evidence is still not in and we may just be witnessing a normal fluctuation in the earth’s climate which happens from time to time?

Q	Oct’21	Jun’21	Jan’21	Jan’20	Nov’19	Mar’19	Oct’18	Sep’17	Aug’16
Climate change is happening and is caused by human activity	59%	56%	58%	56%	61%	62%	63%	64%	57%
We are just witnessing a normal fluctuation in the earth’s climate	30%	27%	32%	32%	28%	27%	25%	24%	26%
Don’t know	11%	16%	10%	13%	11%	12%	13%	12%	17%
Base (n)	1,097	1,087	1,084	1,081	1,083	1,089	1,027	1,011	1,022

 

	Total	Gender			Age Group				Federal Voting Intention
		Male	Female	18-34		35-54	55+	Labor		TOTAL: Coalition	Greens	TOTAL: Other
Climate change is happening and is caused by human activity	59%	60%	58%	62%		60%	55%	70%		49%	77%	48%
We are just witnessing a normal fluctuation in the earth’s climate	30%	31%	29%	28%		27%	36%	23%		39%	15%	47%
Don’t know	11%	9%	12%	10%		13%	9%	7%		12%	7%	6%
Base (n)	1,097	540	557	342		366	389	362		414	94	138

• The majority of people accept that climate change is happening and caused by human activity (59%). This is consistent with previous years.
• 30% think the changes in climate are part of a natural cycle and 11% are unsure. Those most likely to think we are witnessing a natural cycle include those aged over 55 (36%), Coalition voters (39%) and those voting for an independent or minor party (47%).