Public concern over environmental issues in the UK - Data and Analysis (2000-2033)

Environmental awareness in the UK has been shaped over the past five years by a tug-of-war between high-profile climate events and more immediate economic and socio-economic concerns. In 2021-22, the proportion of adults in Great Britain identifying pollution and environmental concerns as among the most important issues facing Britain almost doubled to 20.4%. Controversial protest campaigns by Extinction Rebellion and Insulate Britain received extensive national coverage, while Glasgow's hosting of COP26 in November 2021 pushed the share of people identifying climate change as a primary issue in the Ipsos Issues Index to 40%. The conference's long-term effects proved substantially weaker with only 13% identifying climate change in May 2022, and environmental concern fell by an average of 7.7 percentage points in 2022-23.Since then, concern has been crowded out by the cost-of-living squeeze, pressure on the NHS and immigration concerns. The July 2026 Issues Index shows that immigration continues to be seen as the top issue facing Britain, with the economy in second place and the NHS and inflation both third. Meanwhile, net economic optimism in Britain has fallen to the lowest levels ever recorded since Ipsos began collecting this data in 1978, and concern about defence doubled to 24% in February 2026 as hostilities flared in the Middle East. Against this backdrop, environmental mentions have drifted down into single digits. The record summer heat in 2026-27 brough climate debate back to the forefront of national coversations and 13% mentioned climate as an issue in August 2026, an increase of five percentage points since July and the highest level since February 2024, with fieldwork coinciding with a 37-day UK heatwave. Overall, the proportion of adults identifying pollution and environmental concerns as among the most prominent issues facing Britain is estimated to have fallen by 11.0 percentage points over the five years through 2026-27, to 9.4%.