Project description

Whether it is climate change, biodiversity loss, or the energy transition, public perceptions are key to understanding when and how environmental change and its consequences are interpreted and politicized as a crisis. Research finds that public support for effective implementation of environmental policy measures is essential to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. In addition, politicians have increasingly pointed to public opinion to justify their policy choices on environmental crises and climate change. Despite the importance of public opinion polls and the plethora of data available, however, stakeholders’ experience in interpreting (and presenting) survey results, methodology, as well as their understanding of data’s quality, potential pitfalls, and constraints tend to be limited. To address these gaps and advance the use of public opinion data on effective environmental governance, this project will hold a stakeholder workshop and produce a policy paper consolidating the outcome of the workshop for researchers, policymakers, civil society actors, and think tank experts.

Contact

Sarah Brockmeier-Large (PRIF) brockmeier-large(at)prif.org

Dr. Christina Eder (GESIS) christina.eder(at)gesis.org

Prof. Dr. Alexia Katsanidou (GESIS) alexia.katsanidou(at)gesis.org

Project duration

1. August 2025-31. July 2026

Participating institutes

Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIF)

Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences (GESIS)