Publication
Climate Conversations 2023 Report
From Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications
Published on
Last updated on
The Climate Conversations 2023 ran for eight weeks from June-September. More than 4,000 people took part in the online survey. 12 workshops were held with groups who are vulnerable to the transition to carbon neutrality, or who are not yet taking part in the climate debate. 18 in-depth interviews were conducted with people across society who have taken on new and effective climate action projects.
The findings suggest that:
- Awareness of climate change is high, most participants view it as important and are worried about it, but also feel that it is happening somewhere else, to someone else, and lies in the future
- Many feel that taking individual climate action is for people with money living in urban centres.
- The language used in discussions on climate is too complex and needs to be made clearer
- People need help in making specific plans to take climate action and these plans are different for different sectors and different populations
- Engaging communities and networks is the most effective way to support people more broadly in taking climate action
More detailed findings are contained in the two reports below, which emphasise the focus from individual action to collective engagement. The Climate Conversations 2023 Report covers the full year of activities under the National Dialogue on Climate Action including two Stakeholder Forums, the National Youth Assembly on Climate and extensive stakeholder engagement. The Summary Report is a distilled version of the findings and how they can impact policy decisions. The findings from these reports have been used to help shape national policy through the Climate Action Plan 2024.
