Is climate change still a myth to many?

Climate change and global warming have been much in the news in recent times and are both at the forefront the public consciousness. But recent evidence suggests that there may be a rising level of scepticism about the phenomenon, with more and more people believing it to be a myth.

In Britain, a Cardiff University study has shown that, while most people do still believe climate change is happening, the number who do is in decline.

According to the survey, 78 per cent of people still accept it as a real phenomenon, but the figure was 91 per cent in 2005.

Back in 2005, 82 per cent of people said that they were "fairly or very concerned" about global warming, but this statistic now stands at 71 per cent.

A smaller majority (57 per cent) believe that most scientists are in agreement that global warming is being brought about by human activity, but 40 per cent think that the issue is being exaggerated.

Britons, however, mostly remain willing to take action to reduce climate change. A 65 per cent majority said they would use less energy and 68 per cent would be likely to, or certainly would, agree to use taxpayers' money to fight global warming.

Energy security, however, remains a major concern, with 81 per cent of people worried that the UK will develop too much of a dependence on imported energy.

Professor Nick Pidgeon agreed with the figures and noted that there is more scepticism about climate change.

But he added: "This may not be as significant as some had first feared."

In Australia, however, the change in attitude is deemed so significant that a number of leading figures, including chief scientist Penny Sackett and a Bureau of Meterology representative, have been meeting to discuss the issue.

Dr Cathy Foley, of the Federation of Scientific and Technological Societies, is one of the people involved in the summit.

According to reports, she believes that people are becoming confused by the conflicting claims being put to them and do not know what to believe.

She has stressed the importance of good communication with the public and not resorting to alarmist scare tactics.

In one interview with David Marks of The World Today on ABC, she pointed out that it can be difficult for people to differentiate between scientists who have been following a peer-reviewed system and someone who claims to be a specialist within their field.

"[People] find it hard to say what’s right and what isn't," she explained.

The professor has also told ABC that Australians in rural areas would be targeted by information drives.

She observed that people in these places would be receptive to scientific opinion, as technology has had a key role in improving agricultural performance.

A recent scandal has not helped the climate change activists with their cause.

Both a BBC correspondent and a climate change academic are embroiled in the case.

It involves professor Phil Jones of the University of East Anglia in Norwich, whose sent and received emails on the topic have been made public. The messages suggest that he has promoted manipulating data in order to further the case for climate change being caused by human activity.

Initially posted on a website called Real Climate, intended for scientists who accept that climate change is being caused by humans, the documents reappeared elsewhere after being removed from there. They were then uploaded on to a Russian server and have been published in several websites.

According to the Daily Mail, the emails were also sent to Paul Hudson of the BBC, several weeks before they were released publicly.

He was not available for comment, while the University of East Anglia said that an inquiry was underway and that the sheer volume of documents meant they could not all be confirmed as authentic.

Environmental campaigners, such as George Monbiot, have reacted with dismay.

But professor Jones told the Telegraph that the "facts speak for themselves" and dismissed the idea of any kind of secret campaign to twist the data.

The newspaper also spoke to former Tory chancellor Lord Lawson, who wants to bring in a new think tank to keep the debate fair and is concerned that proper debate is being stifled.

He told the paper that there is an "intolerance" to the idea of discussing the matter and that the issue has become a "secular religion".

In fact, he described the debate as having become "seriously unbalanced, irrationally alarmist and all too often depressingly intolerant".

The paper also reported the case of engineer David Holland who was refused a Freedom of Information Act request for data and told that it was not a matter for public concern.

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