Northern Ireland is lagging behind the rest of the UK when it comes to fighting the green battle. "The Green Barometer", a newly published survey of public opinion, has discovered that while most people in Northern Ireland believe climate change is having an impact, only a small proportion are doing anything about it.
Across the UK, a third of interviewees were prepared to give up a holiday flight for environmental reasons, but that figure dropped to just 15% in Northern Ireland. The survey highlighted that more than 85% of Northern Ireland were aware of the effects of climate change, but only 25% were actively doing anything to counteract the situation. This compares with a national average of 40%, where people are working to save energy through measures like installing gas condensing boilers, cavity wall insulation and replacing light bulbs with energy efficient ones.
In a statement, the Energy Saving Trust, who are the UK organisation set up to address the damaging effects of climate change, emphasised the view that the people of Northern Ireland have the green mindset, but not green behaviours. Noel Williams, the head of the Trust in Northern Ireland said, "There is an enormous willingness to take on the environmental challenge, let's make the most of this window of opportunity to make a real difference."
The Green Barometer was launched on 2 April 2007 by the Energy Saving Trust, and is the first national index to track UK attitudes to green issues. It will be issued on a quarterly basis and can be viewed at http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/aboutest/greenbarometer/.
