Green and Global Britain
Navigating Climate and Foreign Policy with the British Public
Insights from the most extensive British polling to date on how the public think Brits should work with other countries to tackle the global challenge of climate change.
Our research found: Climate change is a top five public priority. The UK public want foreign policy with climate at its heart.
The public desire tangible benefits for people and nature, including greater security - from national security to energy security.
Ambitious foreign policy that is forward-thinking on climate change would be welcomed and meets the public’s expectations and hopes for the UK as a global leader.
While much of the political debate on climate has rightly focused on the domestic transition here in Britain, this research - the largest of its kind on climate and foreign policy - lifts the lid on what the public think about how we should work with other countries to tackle the global challenge of climate change.
Designing and delivering a climate foreign policy that is not in tune with the views of the public risks undermining public support for climate action and public support for financial aid to tackle climate action at home and abroad.
Download the full polling and messaging guide.
Read our eight key takeaways below:
1
Britons want stronger UK leadership on climate change
Britons want to see their country:
Treat climate change as a top foreign policy issue, and be one of the countries leading the way.
Be ‘one of the best places to live in the world’ with millions of green and clean energy jobs.
Be energy secure.
Lend on more generous terms when countries commit to using the money on climate.
2
A ‘defence plus’ approach to foreign policy would be embraced
Over three in four say the world is less stable than 10 years ago. Major concerns include climate, energy, food and water security. A ‘defence plus’ approach to foreign policy needs to be broader than only military defence.
Britons want to see their country:
As respected, strong, and fair.
Lead on protecting nature and people globally.
Working multilaterally with like-minded countries who have similar goals on climate change.
Working with, not against key countries, such as the US, China, and the EU to tackle climate change.
3
Overseas Development Assistance is supported morally but needs to pass the test with the public
Most Britons (61%) support the principle of overseas development assistance (ODA) to poorer countries, but the support is related to the type of assistance. There’s an 18 point increase in support for lending on more generous terms if it is for climate action.
ODA needs to address both why we should invest abroad and how the money will be spent effectively.
Most overestimate the ODA budget, and want it to be lower. Representing aid figures as percentages of GDP and what commitments we’ve made is more compelling than large financial figures.
The source of revenue for ODA climate action is more influential to public support than message or messenger, with taxing polluting businesses being top.
The test:
The why: Moral reasons, such as ‘helping countries in need is doing the right thing’, work well with Britons and a compelling case can be made for ODA with these motivations.
Aside from the ‘why’, the public also need to hear the how:
Reciprocity: Is there something beneficial to the UK as well?
Effectiveness: How is it making a difference?
Self-sufficiency: Does this work in longer-term, are we ‘teaching a man to fish or just giving fish’?
4
Britons want to see government and business in partnership on climate
Britons want to see the government:
Working together with businesses on climate: with regulation and accountability on one hand, and enabling environment and support for businesses to become more climate-friendly on the other.
Create a level playing field so dirty companies don’t undercut clean ones.
‘Use its financial power to promote green and clean business in countries around the world’.
‘Taxing businesses based on their carbon emissions’.
Support vulnerable countries and Britain - by by sending British expertise, technology and businesses overseas.
5
Clean and secure energy, at home and abroad, is a top priority
Over 60% of the public are worried about energy security at home and abroad.
Britons would be proud of their country becoming energy independent, stopped getting oil and gas from fossil fuel economies, and championing renewable energy globally.
Win-win messages about the benefits to people at home and abroad can boost support for investing in renewables globally.
6
Technology + nature = tangibility
The public want technology front and centre of Britain’s approach to climate change at home and abroad.
This is not techno-optimism: Technology is tangible, and clearly demonstrates outcome and impact, while also helping Britain to transition to a more sustainable economy.
Britons also want to see a climate foreign policy approach that prioritises protecting animals and nature, such as protecting biodiversity at home and abroad and saving rainforests.
7
Most Britons worry about global unfairness but have not heard of climate justice
The term ‘Climate Justice’ is not well understood by the public. 74% have not heard of ‘climate justice’ and only 17% would feel confident explaining what it means.
Solidarity with countries impacted by climate change is most positively expressed through the term ‘working together’.
Public attitudes about unequal impacts of climate change are still relatively unformed, with limited awareness of who experiences unequal impacts and how these impacts are felt.
But they support the principle of polluters paying for the damage they have done, and the broadest shoulders bearing the costs for transition."
8
Britons don’t want to look back, and want to be forward-facing and pragmatic
Britons want a ‘forward-facing’ approach to accountability for climate change that is pragmatic and solution-focused. ‘Backward-facing’ approaches are seen as ‘pointing the finger of blame’, rather than taking action.
There is little acceptance for unabated fossil fuel use in developing countries as we ‘know better now’.
Talking about our historic connections with Commonwealth countries can boost support for helping those countries deal with climate change.
Arguments about promoting agency and self-determination of local communities and governments are more persuasive if made in practical terms (‘because they know best what is needed’) rather than moral ones (‘because they deserve to have a say in what happens in their country’).
Downloads
Download the full polling and focus group results
Drawing on polling of more than 12,000 Britons and focus group conversations with more than 120 people between April and October 2024, the research identifies what the public expects from the government when it comes to climate and foreign policy.
Download the Messaging Guide
Designed to help communicators ensure the public’s values, viewpoints and expectations are met as the UK navigates its approach to tackling climate change on the world stage.
For further information get in contact
This project was delivered in partnership by Engaging Climate, Global Optimism, and More in Common.
Narrative Research team: Jamie Clarke, Caroline Holtum, Conleth Burns, Anouschka Rajah, Susie Wang, Aekus Kamboj
Strategy & Support team: Tom Carnac, Charles Ogilvie, Fiona Macklin, Joe Kuper, Katie Bradford
Delivered in
partnership by:
Image credits: Avijit Ghosh, Russell Watkins, Maurizio Di Pietro, Suzanne Lee, Panos Pictures, Climate Visuals Countdown, Climate Visuals, Department for International Development