Climate change fatigue - community interest wanes

New research to be released in early May 2012 from the Melbourne Business School and the University of Technology, Sydney will show that climate change is no longer listed amongst the top concerns of the general community in Australia. The survey of 1500 adults who completed questionnaires in Australia were compared against similar cohorts in parallel studies in the US, UK and Germany indicating the key concerns were food, health, crime and safety and access to public services. This reflects a major change from surveys in 2007 when industrial pollution, renewable energy, climate change and environmental sustainability were ranked at the top of global issues. The survey shows that the focus for most people has returned to the regular concerns and issues which routinely rank in opinion polling. Of particular interest is the disengagement with party politics which correlates to climate change fatigue - after the carbon tax and ETS debate, Australians wish to simply get on with their lives.