VICTORIANS’PERCEPTIONS OFCLIMATECHANGE

REGIONAL REPORT – OVENS MURRAY


Contents

Introduction3

Key findings ataglance4

Detailedfindings6

Priority ofclimatechange6

Causation ofclimatechange7

Levelofconcern8

Willingnesstoact10

Impacts ofclimatechange14

Leadershipandresponsibility16

Government climatechangetargets18

Support forrenewableenergy19

Everydaybehaviours20

Advancedactions22

HowtheVictorianGovernmentcansupportindividuals23

Wallis Market and Social Research achieved accreditation to the International Standard ISO20252 in September 2007. The Company is committed to maintaining administrative and operational procedures which comply with these accreditation requirements and to improving its performance in all aspects of the service it delivers to its customers. Wallis is an active participant in the market research industry, with senior staff making significant contributions to the Australian Market and Social Research Society (AMSRS) and the Association of Market and Social Research Organisations (AMSRO). As such we actively pursue the ethical objectives of theindustry.

In addition to having attained the highest Industry accreditation, Wallis also participates in the Australian Achiever Awards, which recognises the customer service excellence of Australian companies. The Company has been awarded a high commendation every year since the inception of these awards in 1999.

Introduction

SustainabilityVictoria(SV)engagedanexternalresearchprovider, WallisMarketandSocialResearch,toconductastatewidesurvey tocollectbaselinequantitativedataonVictorianresidents’attitudes, beliefsandbehavioursinrelationtoclimatechange.Theresultswill beusedbySVandotherrelevantDepartmentstoinformprogram development andpolicy.

Thisreportisoneofaseriesofreportspreparedforeachof nineregionalgroupings,whichweretakenfromtheRegional

DevelopmentVictoriaclassification1.Eachregionalreportprovidesa

descriptiveanalysisofresultsforthatspecificregion,andcompares

Ovens Murray Region

LGAs in the region:

› Alpine Shire

› Benalla Rural City

› Indigo Shire

› Mansfield Shire

› Towong Shire

› Wangaratta Rural City

› Wodonga City

the regional results to overall state results for Victoria.

Methodology

Themainsurveywasadministeredusingatelephoneinterview methodology,withanonlinefollow-upsurveyemailedtothose respondentswhoagreedtotakepartinfurtherresearch.

Atotalof3,333Victoriansaged15yearsandovertookpartinthe telephonesurvey;ofthese,451alsocompletedthefollow-uponline survey.

Telephone interviews were conducted from 17 November to 14 December 2016, following a pilot test among a small sample of Victorians. The online survey was conducted from 19 December 2016to20January2017,duringwhichtworeminderswereemailed tononresponders.

Sample Design

Thesamplingframesusedforthetelephonesurvey–randomly generatedtelephonenumbers(probabilitysample)plusalistof existingphonenumbers(regionalboostersample)–ensuredthe widestpossiblecoverageoftheVictorianpopulation.

Thesurveysamplewascarefullydesignedandcontrolledtoenable regionalanalysiswhileprovidingresultsthatcanbeprojectedtothe broaderpopulationwithconfidence.

Thesamplewasdesignedtodeliveraminimumof200interviews ineachofnineregionalgroupings.Weightingwasappliedtocorrect fortheover-samplingofregionalareas,aswellasdemographic

differencesbetweentheprobabilitysampleandtheregionalbooster sample, to ensure that the total sample is representative of the Victorianpopulation.

1Source:

Thetablebelowshowsthebroaddemographiccharacteristicsof thesurveyrespondentsfortheOvensMurrayregion,showingthe unweightedandweighteddistributions.

FIGURE 1: SAMPLE DISTRIBUTION

Unweighted n=210
% / Weighted n=210
%
GENDER
Male
Female / 45
55 / 48
52
AGE
Under 40
40-64
65 and over / 15
46
39 / 34
45
22
EDUCATION
University Degree or higher
TAFE/Technical/ Vocational
Completed high school
Did not complete high school
Still at school / 35
28
17
20
0 / 12
39
26
23
0
COUNTRY OF BIRTH
Australia
Elsewhere / 86
14 / 90
10

KeyfindingsinOvensMurrayataglance

Climatechangeishappeningandrequiresaction

95%

say climate change exists and humans are contributing to it;

74%

agree that climate change is an issue that requires urgent action now

85%

believe their actions can help reduce the impact of climate change

Residentsarewillingtotakeaction

84%

58%

are willing to take action on climate change

prefer to buy from businesses that show they are acting on climate change

Ovens Murray residents have observed the impactsofclimatechangeandareconcerned aboutfutureimpacts

80% concerned Water shortages drought

31% concerned Coastal erosion changes to sea level

85%concerned

Crop failures or declines

in agriculture

71% concerned

Heatwaves

98% concerned

Severe bushfires

53% concerned

Air pollution

77% concerned

Severe storms & floods

OvensMurrayissupportive of renewable energy

66%

would support wind turbines in their local area

92%

75%

would support solar panels in their local area

interested in taking part incommunityrenewable energyprojects

(highest in the state)

Detailed findings

Priority of climate change

Whenprompted,climatechangerankedsixthonalistofissuesofimportanceinVictoria;withthreeintenVictorians (30%) nominating climate change as one of the top three most important issues facing the state today. Overall, youngerpeoplerankedclimatechangehigher;theissueranksfifthamongVictoriansaged18-24(41%mentioned climatechangeasatopthreepriority),andclimbstosecondspotbehindeducationamongVictoriansaged15-17, (56%mentionedclimatechangeasatopthreepriority).

Figure2belowshowstheproportionswhomentionedeachissueasoneofthetopthreeissuesfacingthestate. ResultsareshownforVictoriaoverall,GreaterMelbourne,RegionalVictoriaandtheOvensMurrayregion.

OvensMurrayhadthesameproportion(30%)astheoverallStateaveragerankingclimatechangeinthetopthree areasofimportance,andwashigherthantheregionalaverage(23%).

ForOvensMurraytheissueofmostconcernwashealthcare(69%)followedbyeducation(54%)andtheeconomyand jobs(54%).

FIGURE 2: TOP 3 PRIORITY MENTIONS BY LOCATION

Source: A1a/b/c.

Base: Total sample (VIC: n=3,333 | GM: n=1,424 | Reg VIC n=1,909 | Ovens Murray n=210)

Toavoidinfluencingresponsestothisquestionthesurveytopicwasintroducedas“animportantissuefacing Victorians”anddidnotmentionthatclimatechangewasthefocusofthesurveyuntilafterthisquestion.

Inothernationalandinternationalsurveysonthistopic,climatechangeconsistentlyranksbelowthemoredayto dayand‘hippocket’issuessuchashealthcareandthecostofliving.However,despitelowrelativerankingofpriority, resultsthroughoutthisreportshowthatclimatechangeisrecognisedbythemajorityofVictoriansasaseriousissue thatrequiresactionfromallsectorsincludinggovernment,businessandindividuals.

Causation of climate change

The clear majority of Victorians (91%) accept some level of human causality for climate change:

› 3% think climate change is ‘entirely caused by natural processes’, and

› 4% of Victorians hold the opinion that ‘there is no such thing as climate change’.

Figure3belowcomparestheresultsforOvensMurraywithVictoriaoverall,GreaterMelbourneandRegionalVictoria. Therewerenostatisticallysignificantdifferencesinacceptanceofhumancausationorscepticismbylocation.

FIGURE 3: OPINIONS ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE CAUSALITY

NET:
Scepticism / NET: Some human
causation
Victoria
Greater Melbourne
Regional VIC / 7% / 91%
12 / 34 / 38 / 7 / 3 / 4 / 2
6% / 92%
13 / 36 / 36 / 7 / 3 / 4 / 2
8% / 90%
9 / 29 / 43 / 9 / 4 / 4 / 2
Ovens Murray / 5% / 95%
8 / 26 / 51 / 11 / 2 / 20
020406080100%
Entirely caused by hum an activity Mainly caused by human activity
Partly natural and partly caused by human activity
Mainly caused by natural processes Entirely caused by natural processes
Not happening, there is no such thing as climate change Don't know

Source: A2

Base: Total sample (VIC: n=3,333 | GM: n=1,424 | Reg VIC n=1,909 | Ovens Murray n=210)

Level of concern

AlmostfourinfiveVictorians(78%)statedsomelevelofconcernaboutclimatechange.Therewereseveralvariations amongthedemographicsubgroups,withlevelsofconcernbeinghigheramong:

› younger age groups (82% among those aged under 40)

› females (81%)

› residents of Greater Melbourne (81%)

› those with a university degree (39% are ‘very concerned’ compared to 27% average).

Figure4belowcomparestheresultsforOvensMurraywithVictoriaoverall,GreaterMelbourneandRegionalVictoria. ConcernaboutclimatechangeinOvensMurrayissimilartothestateaverage.

FIGURE 4: CONCERN ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE

Source: B2

Base: Total sample

Reasons for concern

Whenaskedtoexplainwhattheywereconcernedaboutinrelationtoclimatechange,themostcommonlystated responsesincluded:

› The impact on future generations

Victoria, 76%; Ovens Murray, 77%,

› The state of the planet

Victoria, 48%; Ovens Murray, 48%,

› The impact on health / quality of life

Victoria, 38%; Ovens Murray, 31%.

Need for action now

FouroutoffiveVictorians(78%)agreethat‘climatechangeisanissuethatrequiresurgentactionnow’.Asmightbe expected,thelevelofagreementwiththisstatementwashigheramongthosewhostatedahighlevelofconcernabout climatechange(96%agreementamongthose‘very’or‘quite’concerned).

AsseeninFigure5agreementwiththisstatementwashigherinGreaterMelbourne(80%)thaninRegionalVictoria(72% average).ThelevelofagreementinOvensMurray(74%)wasonparwiththeRegionalaverage(72%).

FIGURE 5: AGREEMENT THAT CLIMATE CHANGE IS AN ISSUE THAT REQUIRES URGENT ACTION NOW

7880
7274
44 / 46
39 / 43
34 / 35 / 34
30

Source: D4e | Base: All who believe in some human causation of climate change

Willingness to act

ThemajorityofVictorians(80%)areatleastsomewhatwillingtotakeactiontotackleclimatechangewithathird (33%)statingtheyare“verywilling”.

Willingnesstoactonclimatechangeshowedaverysimilarpatterntoconcernaboutclimatechangeintermsof demographicvariations;itishigheramongtheyoungeragegroups(88%amongthoseagedunder25,and83% amongthoseaged25-49),andslightlyhigheramongfemales(83%comparedto77%ofmales).

Figure6belowcomparestheresultsforOvensMurraywithVictoriaoverall,GreaterMelbourneandRegionalVictoria. ThewillingnesstoactonclimatechangeinOvensMurrayisslightlyhigherthanboththestateandregionalaverage, howeverthedifferencewasnotstatisticallysignificant.

FIGURE 6: WILLINGNESS TO ACT ON CLIMATE CHANGE

80817784
34
33 / 35 / 29
46 / 46 / 48 / 50

Source: A3 | Base: All who believe in some human causation of climate change

Motivators for action

Reasonsforwillingnesstoactincludedthedesiretoprotecttheenvironmentforfuturegenerations,and/ortodo theirparttoensurethehealthoftheplanet.

Barriers to action

Reasonsfornotbeingwillingtoactweremostlyrelatedtodenialthathumansarecausingclimatechange,orthe attitudethatthereisnothingtheycandoaboutitpersonally,orlackofknowledgeaboutwhattheycando.

Engagement

EngagementwiththetopicofclimatechangeisreasonablyhighacrossVictoria,withthree-quartersofrespondents (74%)statingsomelevelofinterestinnewsitems,documentariesorothertypesofinformationaboutclimatechange.

TheFigurebelowcomparestheresultsforOvensMurraywithVictoriaoverall,GreaterMelbourne,andRegional Victoria;engagementinOvensMurrayissimilartotheregionalaverage.

FIGURE 7: INTEREST IN INFORMATION ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE

7476
6970
29
29 / 26 / 28
46 / 47
42 / 42

Source: B1 | Base: Total sample

Willingness to act - other measures

Willingnesstoactisstronglyrelatedtoself-efficacy,thatis,thebeliefthattherearemeaningfulthingsonecandoto reducetheimpactofclimatechange.Analysisrevealedthatthemoreconcernedsomeoneisaboutclimatechange, and the more they believe they can make an impact, the more likely they are to state a willingness to take action on climatechange.

The Figures below show the results from two measures; self-efficacy and feeling positive about being part of a community-widemovementtohelptackleclimatechange.TheresultsareshownforOvensMurrayalongwithVictoria overall,GreaterMelbourne,andtheaverageforRegionalVictoria.

Self-efficacyisconsistentlyhighacrossVictoria,whereasfeelingpositiveaboutbeingpartofcommunity-wideaction onclimatechangevariesinasimilarpatterntoconcernaboutclimatechange;higherinGreaterMelbourne(74%)and lowerinRegionalVictoria(63%).Interestingly,OvensMurrayhadamongthelowestproportionwhowouldfeelpositive aboutbeingpartofcommunityaction(59%).

FIGURE 8: SELF-EFFICACY
Agree / FIGURE 9: FEELING POSITIVE ABOUT BEING PART OF COMMUNITY ACTION



Source: D4g | Base: Module 2 / Source: D4b | Base: All who believe in some human causation

Pledge to TAKE2

AlthoughawarenessoftheTAKE2programwasrelativelylow,theresultsregardinglikelihoodofmakingapledge indicate potential for a good level of support for the program, with 67% of Victorians saying they are very or somewhatlikelytopledgetoTAKE2.

This proportion appears higher for the Ovens Murray region, but the difference is not statistically significant.

FIGURE 10: LIKELIHOOD OF MAKING A PLEDGE TO TAKE2

77
676867
23
27 / 29 / 21
54
45
41 / 39
VictoriaGreaterRegional
MelbourneVIC / Ovens Murray

Source: C10a | Base: Module 3

Victoriaisjoiningotherleadingstatesandregionsaroundtheworldincommittingtodoourparttoreduceemissions inlinewithinternationalcommunity’s2015agreementinParis.TAKE2isVictoria’scollectiveclimatechangepledge initiativetoreachnetzeroemissionsby2050,andkeeptheglobaltemperaturerisetounder2degrees.Businesses, community groups, local governments, schools and individuals can participate. Sustainability Victoria is the lead agencyforvoluntarypledgestotakeactiononclimatechange.FormoreinformationontheTAKE2programand

how to get involved, please visit the website.

Impacts of climate change

Allsurveyrespondentswereaskedtostateiftheyhavenoticedanychangeintheoccurrenceofextremeweather and/orenvironmentaleventsinVictoriaoverthepast10years,andifso,whetherornottheythinkthatclimate change is influencing thesechanges.

For the most part, the majority perceive that there has been an increase in each event. Among those who have noticedanincreaseintheseextremeweatherand/orenvironmentalevents,thevastmajoritylinkedtheseeventsto climatechange.

Figure11belowshowstheresultsfortheOvensMurrayregionandthestateaverage.Theweathereventsmost peopleinOvensMurraynoticedincludedincreasesinbushfires(68%)andincreasesinseverestorms(58%).Around half(53%)alsonoticedmorecropfailuresanddeclinesinagriculture.

Figure12showsthatVictoriansclearlyunderstandthatclimatechangeisinfluencingtheincreasingoccurrence ofextremeweatherandenvironmentalevents.Thelinkingofextremeweatherandclimatechangeishighestfor heatwaves,withnineoutoftenpeoplestatingthatclimatechangeisinfluencingthefrequencyofthese.

FIGURE 11: OBSERVATIONS OF THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE

Noticed any changes in the occurrence of… / MORE / LESS / NO CHANGE / DON'T KNOW
VIC
% / OvMry
% / VIC
% / OvMry
% / VIC
% / OvMry
% / VIC
% / OvMry
%
Severebushfires / 61 / 68 / 4 / 1 / 29 / 30 / 6 / 1
Severe storms andfloods / 58 / 58 / 4 / 6 / 30 / 33 / 8 / 3
Airpollution / 55 / 47 / 6 / 7 / 31 / 40 / 9 / 7
Coastal erosion and changes to sea levels / 52 / 50 / 4 / 1 / 21 / 21 / 22 / 28
Crop failures or decliningagriculture / 50 / 53 / 8 / 6 / 20 / 28 / 22 / 13
Heatwaves / 49 / 50 / 11 / 4 / 32 / 40 / 7 / 6
Water shortage anddrought / 47 / 48 / 15 / 12 / 29 / 35 / 9 / 6

FIGURE 12: IS CLIMATE CHANGE INFLUENCING?

Climate change is influencing the observed increase in this? / YES
VIC
% / OvMry
%
Heatwaves / 90 / 90
Coastal erosion and changes to sea levels / 89 / 88
Water shortage anddrought / 84 / 84
Severe storms andfloods / 83 / 83
Crop failures or decliningagriculture / 82 / 77
Severebushfires / 71 / 66

Source: B5/B6 | Base: Total sample

Concern about the impacts

Foreachoftheextremeweatherand/orenvironmentalevents,allrespondentswereaskedtostatehowconcerned theyareabouteachonedirectlyaffectingtheirlocalareaintheforeseeablefuture.AsshownintheTablebelow, levelsofconcernarequitehighacrosstheboard,withwatershortageanddecliningagriculturetoppingthelist.

Figure13belowcomparestheresultsfortheGreatSouthCoastwithVictoriaoverall,GreaterMelbourneand RegionalVictoria.

ResultsindicatethatpeopleinRegionalVictoriaaremorelikelythanthoseinGreaterMelbournetobeconcerned abouttheimpactsof:

› severe bushfires, 84% compared to 62%;

› crop failures/declining agriculture, 79% compared to 68%; and,

› water shortage /drought, 79% compared to 70%.

When compared to other regional areas, people in Ovens Murray are more likely to be concerned about:

› severe bushfires (98% compared to 84% average in regional average);

› crop failures (85% compared to 79% average in regional average); and

› severe storms and flood (77% compared to 68% regional average).

TheirconcernaboutairpollutioninOvensMurray(53%)waslowerthanconcerninGreaterMelbourne(72%)andthe regionalaverage(57%).

FIGURE 13: PROPORTION WHO ARE CONCERNED ABOUT EACH ENVIRONMENTAL EVENT

Victoria / Greater
Melbourne / Regional
VIC / Ovens Murray
%
% / % / %
/ Water shortage and drought / 72 / 70 / 79 / 80
/ Crop failures or declining agriculture / 71 / 68 / 79 / 85
/ Severe bushfires / 68 / 62 / 84 / 98
/ Air pollution / 68 / 72 / 57 / 53
/ Heatwaves / 67 / 67 / 66 / 71
/ Severe storms and floods / 65 / 64 / 68 / 77
/ Coastal erosion and changes to sea levels / 51 / 53 / 45 / 31

Source: B5/B6 | Base: Total sample

Leadership and responsibility

TheVictoriancommunitybelievesthatgovernment,individuals,andbusinessandindustryshouldallbetakingaction onclimatechange.Figure13shows,foreachentity,theproportionofpeoplewhobelieveitshould“leadaction”or “contributetoaction”onclimatechange,andcomparesresultsforOvensMurraytothestateaverage.

›93%ofVictoriansbelievetheStateGovernmentshouldbeactingonclimatechange–eitherinaleadershiprole orasacontributor.

›Figure15(opposite)showsthat22%thinktheVictorianGovernmentisdoing"therightamount"butthemajority (61%)thinktheStateGovernmentshouldbedoingmore;theresultsforOvensMurraydidnotdiffersignificantly totheStateaverage.

FIGURE 14: LEADERSHIP ON CLIMATE CHANGE

Source: C1 | Base: Module 3 (VIC: n=1,000 | Ovens Murray n=64) | results exclude DK/REF

State Government action

FIGURE 15: SHOULD THE STATE GOVERNMENT BE DOING MORE?

Source: C3 | Base: Module2

Government climate change targets

SupportfortheVictoria'semissionsandrenewableenergytargetsishigh–bothtargetsarestronglysupported.The ChartbelowcomparestheresultsforOvensMurraywiththestateaverage;awarenessandsupportinOvensMurray issimilartothestateaverage.

FIGURE 16: AWARENESS OF AND SUPPORT FOR VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT TARGETS



›Approximatelyone-quarter,24%,ofVictorianswere aware of the net zero greenhouse gas emissions by2050target,and13%werevaguelyawarethata targethasbeenset.
› 78% of Victorians support this target.
› Support for the target is stronger among younger Victorians; 88% of those aged 25-39 years.
› The results for Ovens Murray were similar to the state average. / › Approximately one-quarter, 24% of Victorians were awareoftherenewableenergytargets,andafurther 19%werevaguelyawarethattargetswereset.
› 84% of Victorians support these targets
› Support for the targets was stronger among 25-39 year age group, 93%.
› The results for Ovens Murray were similar to the state average.

Source: C4a/C4b/C5a/C6a | Base: Module 2

Reasons for supporting the targets:

›"Ithinkrenewableenergyistheonesure-firewayofreducingourgreenhousegasemissions.Alotofthe emissionscomefromcoalpowerstations,whicharegettingshutdown,whichIthinkisreallygreat."

›"Ithinkitsagreatthingifitcanbedoneatareasonablecost.Fossilfuelsareafiniteresource,soifwecanget morerenewablesourcesofenergy,thenwewillbebetteroff."

›"BecauseIthinkthatweshouldbeclosingdownallthecoalbasedgenerationofelectricityforastartbecauseall ofthatisgoingintotheatmosphere."

›"Ithinkanydecreaseingreenhousegaseshasgottobegoodfortheclimateandforthefutureandthenext generation."

Support for renewable energy

AsshowninFigure17below,levelsofsupportfortherenewableenergytargetsisconsistentlyhighacrossthestate. Thegraphalsoshowseachregion'slevelsofconcernaboutclimateandindicatesthathighlevelsofsupportfor renewableenergyisnotnecessarilydependentonhighlevelsofconcern.

ForOvensMurray,bothmeasures(supportforthetargetsandconcernaboutclimatechange)aresimilartothestate average.

FIGURE 17: CONCERN ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE AND SUPPORT FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY TARGETS

Source: B2/C6a | Base: Total sample (B2) / Module 2 (C6a)

Aswellassupportingthetargets,themajorityofVictoriansaresupportiveofrenewableenergyinfrastructurein theirlocalareawith75%sayingtheywouldsupportwindturbinesintheirlocalarea,and89%sayingtheywould supportsolarpanelsintheirlocalarea,providingaccesstorenewableenergy.

Figure18showsthelevelsofsupportforbothsourcesofrenewableenergy,forVictoriaoverall,GreaterMelbourne, regionalVictoria,andeachregionalgrouping;resultsinOvensMurrayshowveryhighsupportforsolarpanels(92%) andlowersupportforwindturbines(66%).

FIGURE 18: SUPPORT FOR WIND TURBINES AND SOLAR PANELS

Source: D4d | Base: Module 1 (wind turbines) Module 2 (solar panels)

Everyday behaviours

ThemajorityofVictoriansarealreadytakingpositiveactiontoreduceenergyuse.TheChartsbelowshowthe everydayactionsthatpeoplecandonowbutmayneedsomeencouragementtodo.Actionsthatmostpeoplesaid theyalwaysdoincludedbuyingenergyefficientappliances,51%,andlimittheamountoffoodthrownout,50%.

TheChartscompareresultsforOvensMurraywiththeStateandotherregions.Nostatisticallysignificantdifferences werefound.

FIGURE 19: TAKE-UP OF EVERYDAY BEHAVIOURS


Actively reducecaruseActively limit energy used toheatandcool thehome

%

VictoriaRegional VIC OvensMurray

VictoriaRegional VIC OvensMurray

Choose to buy energy efficient household appliances

Limit the amount of food thrown out

%5323

%55

VictoriaRegional VIC OvensMurrayVictoriaRegional VIC OvensMurray

Encourage others to adopt pro climate change behaviours

%

VictoriaRegional VIC OvensMurray

Buy any household energy from a green supplier

%

VictoriaRegional VIC Ovens Murray

Source: D1a/b/c/d/e/f | Base: Total sample

Motivations and barriers for everyday behaviours

Themostcommonlystatedmotivationsforundertakingeverydaybasicincludedcost,convenience,andcomfort. Concernfortheenvironmentwasareasonablystrongmotivator,butnotthehighest.

A selection of comments from those in the Ovens Murray region is shown below.

Motivations / Barriers
Actively reduce car use
"Exercisekeepsmefit,notusingmycar.Idon'tliketotakemycar ifIdon'thaveto.Therearetoomanycarsontheroad.We'veonly gotthebushereforpublictransport." / "WeliveinWangarattaandit's5kilometerstotheshopping centre;IcanwalkbutI'mnotthatfit,Idon'thaveabike,andI couldtakethebusbutIdon't,becauseIhaveacar."
Actively limit energy to heat and cool the home
"Tworeasons;toreducegreenhousegasemissionsandalsoto savemoney,whichisabigmotivator." / "Becauseifit'shotoutside,I'mgoingtocooltheinside.Ifit'scold outside,I'mgoingtobewarm.Imakesurelightsareswitchedoff, butifitstemperature,Idon'tcare."
Choose to buy energy efficient household appliances
"Wellbecauseitischeaperifitismoreenergyefficientintermsof running theappliance." / "Thelastoneblewup.Idon'tcheckthestarsontheenergyrating."
Limit the amount of food thrown out
"Ihaveadogthatjustabouteatsanything.Wecookwhatweneed sogenerallyallleftoversareeitherforlunchthenextdayorgoes to thepuppies." / "JustbecauseitfestersinthefridgeandIdon'teatitsoIendup throwingitout,I'mover-buyingIsuppose."
Encourage others to adopt pro climate change behaviours
"It's not about climate change as such; I do believe in saving resourcesandrecyclingthoughandIencourageotherstodothat." / "Idon'tknow,it'sjustnotsomethingwetalkabout.Whenwetalk aboutit,Ido,butthereareusuallyotherthingsgoingon."
Buy any household energy from green supplier
“Ithinkit'sgoingtohelptheenvironment,tomakesuretheplanet iskeptinthebestorderaspossible.” / "Becausewe'vejustmoved,andIwantedtoexpeditetheprocess ofgettingthepowerconnected."

Advanced actions

TobetterunderstandtheactionsthatSustainabilityVictoriamightsupportinthefuture,itisimportanttogauge thelevelofinterest(framedwithinafiveyearperiod)inaselectionof'advanced'behaviours.Theyareconsidered ‘advanced’becausetheyhavehighupfrontcostsandrequirealevelofplanningbythosewhowishtoadoptthem.

Respondents were presented with the five advanced behaviours shown below, and asked to state their level of interestineachone;asseeninFigure20,thelevelofinterestintakinguptheseactionswithinthenext5yearswas high. The Figure below shows the proportion who are 'very' or 'somewhat' interested in each action, for Victoria overall, Greater Melbourne, regional average and the Ovens Murray Region. While there were no statistically significantdifferencesinthelevelofinterestbylocation,itisimportanttonotethefollowing:

›OvensMurrayrespondentshadthehighestlevelofinterestinparticipatingincommunity-basedrenewable energyprojects,75%comparedto58%stateaverage;

› Ovens Murray also had higher levels of interest in buying 100% green power (78%) than the regional average (68%).

FIGURE 20: INTEREST IN ADVANCED BEHAVIOURS

Source: D3a/b/c/d/e.Base: Module 1 and accept some human causation | Results exclude “already doing this”

How the Victorian Government can support individuals

SurveyrespondentswereaskedtocommentonwhattheythinktheStateGovernmentcoulddotosupportindividual actiononclimatechange,with62%beingabletothinkofsuggestions.Thecommentswerecodedintothemesas shownintheTablebelow.AcrossVictoria,themajorityofcommentsrelatedtoeducation(providinginformationon whatpeoplecandototackleclimatechange),providingincentivesand/orsubsidisingsolarandotherrenewable energysources,andprovidingfundingforcommunityprograms.

FIGURE 21: SUGGESTIONS FOR HOW THE VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT CAN SUPPORT INDIVIDUAL ACTION

Suggestions for how to support individualaction / ALL VIC
(n=523)
%
Education / promotion of climate change issues / 30
Support / promote / subsidise solar power / 23
Support / promote renewable energy / 18
Reduce waste and pollution / 16
Provide funding / financial incentives / 13
Improved public transport / cycle tracks / 9
Increase legislation / regulation of business and industry / 4
Better recycling / waste reduction / 3
More schemes such as the Green Energy Lighting scheme / 3
Support / promote green cars / 3
Reduce / ban plastic bags / 2
Plant more trees / re-vegetation / 1
Other / 10

Source: F4 | Base: Module 3

Further information

For more information contact Sustainability Victoria

Sustainability Victoria Level 28, Urban Workshop,

50 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne VIC 3000

Phone (03) 8626 8700

sustainability.vic.gov.au

Published by Sustainability Victoria.

Summaryofkeyfindings–ClimateChangeSocialResearch

© Sustainability Victoria, November 2017 ENG075

Victorian Perceptions of Climate Change (excluding all

trademarksandlogos)islicensedunderaCreativeCommons Attribution 4.0 Australia licence. In essence, you are free to copy, distribute and adapt the work, as long as you attribute the work and abide by the other licence terms. Go to toview

a copy of this licence.