Wiganers have doubts that politicians will act over climate change

A mere 14.3 per cent of borough residents think the current political system is kitted out for dealing with environmental crisis, a poll carried out by sustainable buildings firm Modular Classrooms found.

Climate change has become a much more prominent topic in politics in recent months, with a majority of those questioned recently saying green issues will influence the way they vote on December 12.

Younger voters are also known to be particularly passionate about environmental subjects.

However, despite parties’ efforts to reflect public feelings about climate change in their manifestos, there is clearly little confidence that Westminster will actually act or do enough.

And scepticism here is particularly pronounced, with the borough figure of just over 14 per cent well down on the England average of 22 per cent.

The polling also found borough residents could do with brushing up their green knowledge, with Wigan scoring 48 per cent in a test of how aware they were of the issue.

The survey conductors said this reflected a lack of general knowledge about the environment among a majority of borough residents.

Questions asked included if they knew which mode of transport had the heaviest impact on carbon footprints, which country leads the world for solar energy and which oil products contribute most to illegal deforestation.

The survey did find, though, that on average Brits would be willing to pay £23 per month from their salary, or £280 per year, to give the government a bigger budget and more resources to fight climate change.

The political manifestos for the general election contain a raft of environmental measures. Labour is offering voters a Green New Deal, while the Liberal Democrats have adopted the demand for citizens’ assemblies.

Mark Brown of Modular Classrooms said: “In order to help save the planet, it’s vitally important to be aware of the harmful effects our habits have on the environment. The more we know, the more effective our conservation efforts will be.

“Bring up climate change in everyday conversation with your family, friends and children to help spread the word. You might not think switching up a few simple habits makes a difference, but if everyone is doing it, it can amount to great change.”