Government deploys climate shock tactics to drive carbon cuts

The government will today launch a new climate change public information campaign, which for the first time confirms the existence of climate change and its man-made origins.

It presents a stark warning that children alive today will face dire consequences as a result of unchecked global warming.

The campaign will be launched this evening with the broadcast of a new advert. This shows a father reading his daughter a bedtime story about "a very, very strange" world where sea levels have risen and large areas have run out of water.

The advert goes on to link these climate-change impacts with carbon emissions and advises that more than 40 per cent of carbon emissions can be avoided through behaviour change and cuts in domestic carbon emissions.

The "bedtime story" advert will be released alongside the results of a new survey of more than 1,000 adults, showing that people remain largely unaware of scientists' warnings that serious climate change impacts are real and imminent.

Recent studies suggest that temperatures are on track to rise by four degrees above pre-industrial levels by 2060 resulting in widespread droughts, increased incidence of extreme weather and potential runaway climate change.

However, the survey found that more than half of respondents do not believe climate change will affect them and only 18 per cent believe it will have an impact in their children's lifetime. Meanwhile, only 26 per cent accepted that climate change was already underway.

The survey also suggested people would be more willing to take action to curb carbon emissions if they were fully aware of the potential impacts, with three-quarters saying they would take immediate action to change their lifestyle now if they knew that climate change would affect their children's lives. In addition, more than half were confident that actions by individuals could help tackle climate change.

"The results show that people don’t realise that climate change is already underway and could have very severe consequences for their children’s lives," said energy and climate change minister Joan Ruddock. "It also suggests people still aren't sure what causes climate change. Our new Act on CO2 adverts show how serious it is and that we can all do something about it."