More believe climate change is problem

More and more people in Scotland believe climate change is an urgent problem, according to statistics.

Six in ten adults (61 per cent) in 2017 said they view it as an immediate issue, an increase of 6 per cent in one year and up by a third since 2013.

Young people appear to be particularly concerned about global warming, while worry is lowest among those in the 75+ age group.

The proportion of 16-24 year olds who view climate change as an immediate problem increased by more than half between 2013 and 2017, from 38 per cent to 58 per cent, the largest increase of any age group. 0 Green MSP Andy Wightman said ministers must change

The figures are contained in the annual 2017 Scottish Household Survey published by Scotland’s Chief Statistician, which contains a wideranginglookatpeople’schanging attitudes and circumstances in Scotland.

In the survey, respondents were asked questions about their attitudes towards climate change.

Some 61 per cent last year agreed it is an “immediate and urgent” problem, up from 55 per cent in 2016.

Some 18 per cent said it is more of a problem for the future, 5 per cent said it is not really a problem and 8 per cent said they are not convinced climate change is happening.

Scottish Green MSP Andy Wightman said: “The findings must serve as a final warning to ministers to change their centralising mind set and desist in blocking council efforts to raise more revenue to protect local services.”

Deputy First Minister John Swinney said: “Climate change is one of the biggest issues of our time and it is clearly at the forefront of people’s minds.”