Changing Attitudes and Actions Towards Climate Change

Spring has sprung in Canada! April showers! May flowers! Warmer weather and forest fires?

With parts of Canada already experiencing forest fires and water rationing due to drought, we may be seeing a repeat of the Summer of 2023 when an area three times the size of Italy burned from one coast to another in Canada. 

Ipsos’ annual Earth Day report sheds light on how Canadians and the rest of the world are coping with climate change. In the report we explore how attitudes to climate change are evolving, who is being held responsible for leading the fight against the climate emergency, and what actions people are willing to take.

There are some mixed messages and contrary trends. A mix of apathy and hope. All the tell-tale characteristics of an issue coming increasingly into focus. For many years climate change has been the big issue on the horizon. But last Summer in Canada, thanks to the smoke from forest fires, it became the urgent issue that obscured our horizon. 

For those looking for hope and direction, Canadians say the three things most likely to get them to change their behaviours, and take steps to address climate change are: 

 

• making the change affordable,
• making what needs to be done both easy to do and easy to understand, and,
• experiencing the impact of extreme weather events.

The last of these elements is very much present today thanks to climate change itself. 

Providing financial incentives and making the change easy and easy to understand requires leadership and focus. Canadians are looking for business leaders and governments to act. When it comes to the impact of the products and services they purchase, consumers are looking more to the private sector than to the public sector, and they are starting to change their behaviours accordingly, with more Canadian consumers looking for information about environmental and social impact of a product before they purchase.

For more insights, please check out our 2024 Earth Day Report or connect with us directly!

Consider also joining us on May 22 for The Marketing of Purpose.