Shetland Islands Council is continuing its climate conversation – with the launch of its second climate change survey.
People are being invited to give their views on things like transport, health and the environment and how these are linked to climate change. The six-week survey is open until 9th March.
It asks people what their top three priority areas are for tackling climate change, what people are most worried about when it comes to climate change affecting Shetland, and what people are doing at home to help.
The survey follows on from the Council’s first Shetland Climate Conversation Survey in 2021 and provides the chance to see if the community feels differently about climate change than five years ago.
More than 800 responses were received in 2021, with about 80 per cent of respondents believing there was a climate emergency. Then, the main priority areas respondents believed needed to be addressed were transport (including aviation and shipping), energy supply and business and industries.
Claire Ferguson is Team Leader for the Council’s Climate Change Strategy Team. She says: “This is a great opportunity for us to hear from the community about climate change and what that means from a Shetland perspective.
“Our first survey showed that people really care about the environment and their communities, and that lots of people are making positive changes at home.
“It’s also fed into our work as to how we as a Council can tackle climate change while supporting the community and bringing positive benefits. As an example, information gained in the 2021 survey was used to inform the funding application to Innovate UK for the Brae Rural Energy Hub project.
“I’d encourage as many people as possible to fill in the survey as this will shape our work in future and help to put more projects on the ground that are aligned to, and focussed on, community priorities.”
The survey can be found on our website at the following link: https://www.shetland.gov.uk/climate-change/climate-conversation-survey