Public Perception and Awareness

The aim of work package 2, The Public, is to gain a better understanding of what the public knows about climate change in the marine environment, and to explore awareness of ongoing research initiatives funded by the EU and national governments.

This general objective can be subdivided in:
- evaluating the success and/or failure of previous attempts to disseminate EU research results among the general public, especially those concerning climate change in the marine environment. This task will identify projects that were successful in this regard, it will highlight tools and techniques that proved popular, and it will offer recommendations with respect to future dissemination efforts and outreach methodologies.

 

- assessing the publics' perception and knowledge of EU research on climate change impacts on the marine environment by surveying a representative sample of European citizens from a selection of nation states. This task will be primarily carried out by a professional polling organization -TNS - that will poll at least nine European countries, taking into account differences between coastal and inland areas. The poll will result in the identification of the main gaps in public awareness, and in highlighting the issues that are considered important and/or urgent at a regional and Europe-wide level.

 

The coordinator of this work package CEFAS will incorporate the outcomes of these tasks in several reports (available at the library).