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News media main source for climate crisis information

Just days after President Donald Trump announced that the US is leaving the landmark Paris climate agreement to combat global warming, a survey comprising eight countries shows  ‘climate perception inertia’ – a stagnation in public views on, attitudes to, and engagement with climate issues and information over time despite the growing urgency of the crisis. News media continues to be the primary way people access climate change information, the survey made by Reuters Institute shows.

 “The public understanding of risks, evaluations of institutional responses, interaction with climate news, and views on policy actions have, in most cases, remained remarkably stable since 2022, reflecting limited shifts in awareness and engagement.” 

On average across eight countries, half (50%) see, read, or hear news or information about climate change on a weekly basis – showing little change from 2022 (51%)”, the Institute reports.

The data come from an online survey of people in eight countries: Brazil, France, Germany, India, Japan, Pakistan, the UK, and the USA.

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Highlights:

  • Climate news and information consumption is highest in France (60%), with lower numbers in the USA (34%) where, against the backdrop of the presidential election, there was a 16 percentage point (pp) fall from 2023.
  • The news media continues to be the primary way people access climate change information – ahead of documentaries, social media, and interpersonal communication – with television news (31%) and online news websites/apps (24%) the most widely used media. Video is people’s preferred format, ahead of text.
  • Half (50%) say that they trust the news media on climate change – a figure that has also changed little from 2022 (52%). Scientists are by far the most trusted source of climate change information (74%) as well as the most visible source in news coverage.
  • Although some argue that ‘every story is a climate story’, people are most interested in climate news that intersects with local news (52%) and weather (54%), emphasising the importance of personal relevance. People say they are less interested in climate news that intersects with entertainment coverage (25%).
  • On average across eight countries, the proportion that think they see false and misleading information about climate change on a weekly basis is 25% – with little change from 2022 (27%).
  • The highest figures for self-reported climate change misinformation exposure is in India (43%), with considerably lower figures in the UK (17%) and Japan (16%).
  • Over two-thirds of people in every country are concerned about the impact of climate change on people and the planet. This proportion has remained stable across the past three years, reflecting perception inertia in public concern, despite increasing climate challenges.
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