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Could ‘pester power’ help save the planet?

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Posted on February 11, 2011 by ecoadmin 

giddens

Family and friends are motivating us to go green!

According to new research released to coincide with the Climate Week Awards, nearly one in five Brits do not act on climate change because they don’t believe others are doing their bit to save the planet, prompting renowned sociologist and eco expert Lord Professor Anthony Giddens to speak out about how communities influence environmentally responsible behaviour.

While the majority of people believe the science behind climate change, the research also points to a worrying 15% of the population unwilling to change their behaviour based on the facts alone. It is amongst this group that personal influence from friends, family, media and celebrity is critical in encouraging action to save the planet.
The research shows that those people closest to us are most likely to inspire us to take action to save the planet – if only because they nag us!

One in ten climate cynics agree that they’d do more if their friends or neighbours demonstrated a bigger commitment to saving the planet, they would do more themselves.

This is particularly true of men, who would appear to be willing to go green for a quiet life. They are most likely to be influenced by those who nag them (69%). Women, on the other hand, are most likely to follow advice from people they see as experts (64%).

Partners have the greatest influence over the decisions we make (58%) – more than 25 times greater than neighbours at 2%. Perhaps inevitably in a world where extended families live more separate lives, friends (41%) have more influence than parents (36%).

Those who are most influenced by friends said this was because they didn’t want to be the odd one out (84%) and even climate skeptics are swayed by wanting to fit in with the crowd.

Despite the climate cynics out there, the research revealed a genuine appetite to act on climate change – with four out of five people motivated to take action and the same number believing one person can make a difference.

More information: www.climateweek.com/awards

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One Response to “Could ‘pester power’ help save the planet?”

  1. ecoadmin says:

    February 11th, 2011 at 11:18 am
     

    Is ‘green’ a figment of our imagination? Perhaps we should all be ‘blue’?

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