# Charities have key role to play in debating climate change, CAF poll finds

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2019/09/19/charities-have-key-role-to-play-in-debating-climate-change-caf-poll-finds/
- Published: 2019-09-19T21:55:29+01:00
- Author: Melanie May

**Almost half of the UK public questioned for a Charities Aid Foundation poll believe
that charities are an important part of the climate change debate, with younger 
people more likely to think so.**

The [CAF](https://www.cafonline.org) poll found that, overall, 46% agreed with the
statement, while 28% neither agreed nor disagreed and 9% didn’t know. Just over 
half (51%) disagreed with the statement “Charities should not get involved in the
climate change debate”, with 24% neither agreed nor disagreed and 8% said they didn’t
know.

Younger respondents, 16-24 year olds, were most likely to think that “Charities 
are an important part of the climate change debate”, with 59% feeling this way. 
Just over two thirds of this age group also disagreed (69%) with the statement that“
Charities should not get involved in the climate change debate”.

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CAF also asked people who they thought had most effectively led the climate change
debate. Individuals were chosen by 35% of respondents as the most effective, a figure
that rose to 38% amongst women and 45% among 16-24 year olds. This was ahead of 
international bodies such as the United Nation on 14%, charities on 9%, Government
on 8% and businesses on 2%.

CAF’s Head of Research Susan Pinkney commented:

> “People clearly see individuals as leading the public debate on climate change.
> This is likely to have been a result of prominent activists such as Greta Thunberg
> and the school climate protests.”
> “It’s notable that a sizeable minority of those polled were unsure about whether
> or not charities are an important part of the climate debate, or whether they 
> should play any role at all.
> “Charities like Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth often lead the climate conversation,
> but perhaps the charity sector at large – along with international bodies, governments
> and businesses – need to get better at expressing how they’re helping to tackle
> what is emerging as the defining issue of our age.”

 * **[Nominations for Climate Communications Awards close next week](https://fundraising.co.uk/2019/09/26/nominations-for-climate-communications-awards-close-next-week/)**(
   26 September 2019)
 * **[IoF announces raft of commitments for addressing climate emergency](https://fundraising.co.uk/2019/10/07/iof-announces-raft-commitments-tackling-climate-emergency/)**(
   7 October 2019)
 * **[Foundations sign up to new Funder Commitment on Climate Change](https://fundraising.co.uk/2019/11/07/foundations-sign-up-to-new-funder-commitment-on-climate-change/)**(
   7 November 2019)

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