Public support for the UK Government’s net zero target has nearly halved since 2021, according to a new study by King’s College London.
29% of the public now say the UK should achieve net zero before the government’s 2050 target, down from 54% in 2021.
The proportion who feel the UK either doesn’t need to reach net zero by 2050 or shouldn’t have a net zero target at all has also risen from 9% to 26% over the same period.
However, despite a declining sense of urgency, the study also found that 64% of UK adults still believe the government’s target for net zero should be at least 2050, if not earlier.
Polling company Ipsos UK interviewed online a representative sample of 4,027 UK adults aged over 16 as part of the research.
The findings are part of a new study carried out by the Policy Institute at King’s College London, Ipsos and the Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations.
The percentage of people who said they were at least fairly worried about climate change has fallen from 83% in 2021 to 72% in 2025.
44% say they would be more likely to vote for a political party committed to strong climate action, even if this led to higher energy costs and required greater investment, which is down from 52% in 2024.
What’s changed is the urgency people feel and their willingness to support policies that might affect their daily lives or finances.
The belief that the UK needs to achieve net zero sooner than 2050 is also no longer the majority view among younger and middle-aged people.
The study found that only 37% of 16 to 34-year-olds felt the UK should achieve net zero sooner than 2050, down from 59% in 2021.
However, people over the age of 55 have seen the sharpest increase in opposition to net zero targets. In 2021, 11% of people aged over 55 said either the UK does not need to hit its 2050 target or does not need a net zero target at all.
This has since risen to 35% – more than double the share of 16- to 34-year-olds (16%) who feel the same.
Despite these shifts, majorities in all age groups still favour achieving net zero by 2050 or earlier.
Majorities of nearly all parties’ 2024 voters – Greens (89%), Lib Dems (81%), Labour (79%) and Conservative (53%) – supported reaching net zero by 2050 or sooner.
However, 2024 Reform UK voters stand out as the only political group without a majority in favour of achieving net zero by 2050 or sooner, with only 26% backing this timeline.
They were also the least likely to support a range of climate policies, and the only group where fewer than half say they’re worried about climate change.
Commenting on the research, Professor Bobby Duffy, Director of the Policy Institute at King’s College London, said: “This research reveals a striking decline in the public’s sense of urgency around climate action.”
“The proportion who think we need to reach net zero sooner than 2050 has nearly halved since 2021, and support has fallen for every climate policy we’ve tracked over this period. But this doesn’t represent a wholesale rejection of climate action.”
“What’s changed is the urgency people feel and their willingness to support policies that might affect their daily lives or finances.”
