In July 2021, 41% of the public said climate change was one of the top five issues they were most concerned about. By June 2025, this had fallen to only 28%. Its ranking has fallen from the second most concerning issue to fifth. 

These trends are taken from our nfpIntelligence research with the general public, a quarterly tracking tool that helps charities understand attitudes towards the issues they’re working on. 

What makes this fall so interesting is that, at the same time as concern is falling, ever higher numbers are saying that they can see the effects of climate change in their local area, in the UK, and internationally. 

So what is happening? 

First, although we might not have believed it in 2022, it feels like there is a lot more going on in the world to be worried about. The public is still most concerned about the quality of NHS services. But concern about war / political instability has increased 11% in the last 6 months alone – now at 41%. Concern about immigration has been increasing as concern about climate change has been falling – it was 15% in April 2022 and is now at 38%. 

So, is it the case that this is simply a case of other issues crowding out climate change as a top concern? Yes and no. The people who thought climate change was a top concern in 2022 probably still think climate change is concerning; it’s just they’re more concerned by the threat of conflict or poor healthcare. 

But when we dig into the data a little more, we see that the proportion of the public saying ‘there is no evidence that climate change is happening’ and that ‘human activity does not have a significant effect on the climate’ are now at their highest levels (around 30%). Still the minority, but increasing significantly in the last 12 months alone and reversing a long-term downward trend. 

The messaging from popular political voices has changed. 

The US government has a strong anti-renewables and pro-fossil fuels stance. Reform UK want to repeal any Net Zero policies. These messages are clearly cutting through. It is unsurprising that Reform voters are the least likely to say they’re concerned about climate change. However, 18% still say climate change is a top concern – so things aren’t quite as clear-cut as they might seem. 

It feels like we’re entering a new phase for the climate change debate. The minority of rejectors is growing. For the concerned about climate change group, they’re increasingly worried about other issues. For charities working in this space, the question is: how do you persuade and reach the rejector? For those already concerned: how do you convince them that climate change is an urgent priority over everything else? 

And that feels like the topic of a whole new blog…