EPSON study reveals new perceptions of climate change

EPSON says its new global study about the perceptions of climate change has found a potentially damaging gap between climate reality and people’s understanding of its catastrophic effects. Climate Reality Barometer survey of the company released 50 days before the start of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in the UK in November. It measured global experiences and perceptions of climate change from 15,000 consumers across Australia, Asia, Europe, North America and South America.

Despite 2021 witnessing the warmest July ever recorded on the planet, catastrophic wildfires, floods and thawing permafrost, the Epson Climate Reality Barometer reveals that for some, optimism can tip over into delusion, said the report.

According to a source from the company, this is a wake-up call for everyone — governments, businesses and individuals — to work together, make the right decisions and inspire the right actions moving forward. The Barometer suggests that optimism may be the result of a failure to recognise climate change and, therefore, its scale. Around three quarters of respondents see the link between climate change and rising global temperatures (77 percent), extreme weather (74 percent) and wildfires (73 percent).