CGEE research shows that the perception of the severity of climate change is considered serious by 60.5% of respondents
The vast majority of the Brazilian population (95.4%) claims to be aware that climate change is ongoing, while only 3.5% say they are unaware and 1% did not know or did not want to respond.
The data are from the survey “Public perception of science and technology in Brazil”, released on Wednesday (May 15, 2024) by CGEE (Center for Management and Strategic Studies), a non-profit civil association linked to Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation. Here’s the complete of the study (PDF – 2 MB).
Brazilians’ almost unanimous awareness of climate change, however, does not translate into absolute agreement about the reasons for the phenomenon. For 78.2% of those interviewed, changes in planet Earth’s climate occur due to human action – as different scientific studies point out. For 19.6%, however, these changes are natural, without human intervention.
The perception of the severity of climate change is even more relative: 6 out of 10 respondents (60.5%) agree that the event represents a “serious danger to people in Brazil”. For 26.9%, the risks are “average”; and 11.8% believe that the changes represent “a small danger” (8.2%) or “are not a danger” (3.6%).
Sample
The survey was carried out in the last week of November and the 1st week of December 2023, well before the storms and floods that afflict Rio Grande do Sul. 1,931 people aged 16 or over were interviewed. The composition of the sample has representation of strata by gender, age, education, income and place of residence in all regions of the country.
This was the 6th edition of the opinion survey on public perception of science and technology among Brazilians carried out by CGEE. Previous editions took place in 1987, 2006, 2010, 2015 and 2019. The researchers assessed that no significant changes in interest in the topics covered were observed between the surveys.
Interest in science
In the 2023 edition, interest in science and technology was at the same level as previous surveys (60.3% of respondents). The percentage achieved by the theme indicates lower interest than in associated themes, such as medicine and health (77.9%) and environment (76.2%); and on different topics, such as religion (70.5%) and economics (67.7%).
Science and technology are ahead of interest in sport (54.3%); art and culture (53.8%); and politics (32.6%). Even though it was a minority, interest in politics was the only one that saw significant growth in the last two editions of the survey: more than 9 percentage points. In 2019, only 23.2% of respondents declared themselves interested in this subject.
Despite the declared interest in science and technology, only 17.9% of those interviewed said they knew a scientific research institution and 9.6% remembered the names of important Brazilian scientists. The proportion of Brazilians who visit spaces or participate in activities related to scientific knowledge or education is also a minority.
“Declaring interest means the importance that Brazilians attribute to the topic (it does not necessarily mean reading, participating or getting informed, even if the correlation exists)”, explains the study report.
Using the 12 months preceding the survey as a reference, less than 20% of those interviewed (19.4%) said they had gone to a library; 18.9% participated in a science fair or Olympics; 13.4% visited an art museum; 11.5% were in a science and technology museum; and 6.6% followed the National Science and Technology Week. The event was held in Brasília with the theme “Bicentennial of Independence: 200 Years of Science, Technology and Innovation in Brazil”. Even visiting zoos was a minority among those interviewed (32.7%).
Scientific citizenship
According to the research report, the survey indicates inequality in access to knowledge. “Interest in S&T [ciência e tecnologia] tends to change depending on the region of residence, age, income and type of political participation of the interviewees. That is, its value is greater in the North and South regions; falls sharply with age; as income grows, interest tends to grow; and its value increases according to those who say they participate in strikes, demonstrations, petitions or other forms of political demonstration.”
For Yurij Castelfranchi, associate professor at the Department of Sociology at UFMG (Federal University of Minas Gerais), the survey data indicate that in Brazil there is “people excluded from science” or “exiles from scientific citizenship”.
Despite the social separation, the academic points out that most of the interviewees “finds science relevant”. The vast majority of Brazilians interviewed suggest increasing or maintaining investments in science “even in years of crisis”. In 2023, “only 2.6% of respondents believe that investment in scientific research should be reduced”, says the research report.
Misinformation
Social exclusion also did not affect the perception of the dangers of misinformation and the spread of fake news. 5 out of 10 respondents said “frequently come across news that seems fake”, describes the report. 61.8% say they never share information if they are not sure of its veracity, while 36.5% admit to having already shared false information.
Also according to the report, 45.6% of respondents “suspect the veracity of information coming from people or institutions with which they disagree”. For 42.2%, the information is true “when they come from people or institutions they admire”.
At least 40% of people interviewed stated that “only believe information if it is corroborated by other sources”. In Castelfranchi’s assessment, the declared checking attitude is positive: “This is a basic principle of media literacy”.
In addition to collecting the opinions of Brazilians, the CGEE survey analyzed reports on science in 2 of the most important Brazilian newspapers (Folha de S.Paulo It is The globe) and evaluated posts on the topic on social media (Instagram and YouTube).
The results of this analysis were released in the report “Science in different arenas”. Here’s the complete of the document (PDF – 4 MB).
With information from Brazil Agency.
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