Climate Risks Perception and Collective Action

“It’s warming. It’s us. We’re sure. It’s bad. We can fix it.”

Or, as the United Nations climate group puts it:

Human activities, principally through the emissions of greenhouse gases, have unequivocally caused global warming, with global surface temperature reaching 1.1°C above 1850-1900 in 2011-2020. Global greenhouse gas emissions have continued to increase, with unequal historical and ongoing contributions arising from unsustainable energy use, land use and land-use change, lifestyles and patterns of consumption and production across regions, between and within countries (IPCC, 2023)

This survey aims to understand the perceptions of climate change risks among the people on Cortes Island. The information collected during this research will be used by the Cortes Island Climate Action Network and governments to develop a set of recommendations for collective action to fight climate change at a local and global level.

The survey will take approximately 10 minutes to complete. It is completely voluntary, and you can skip questions or quit the survey at any time. The information will be anonymized to ensure participants' privacy; however, if individuals wish to be recognized for their contributions, we will ensure that they receive credit. The results of our research will be shared through a public report.

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* 1. Name

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* 2. Age

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* 3. Occupation

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* 4. Are you a year-round resident on Cortes?

Yes

If no, how many weeks per year do you spend on Cortes Island?

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* 5. Rank by urgency the following risks that Cortes Island may face as a result of climate change, with 1 being the most urgent and 6 being the least urgent.

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* 6. Rank the following ecosystems/areas according to their need for protection against the impacts of climate change. With 1 being the one in most need and 6 the least.

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* 7. Rank the following risks, according to your interest in participating in collective action to mitigate them, with 1 being the risk that interests you the most and 5 being the risk that interests you the least

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* 8. Please rank the following community-scale options according to your interest in engaging with them, with 1 being the one you would like to engage with the most and 6 being the least.

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* 9. Tick the skills that you would like to develop.

Ecological travel

Gardening

Foraging

Composting

Reducing home energy use

Food preparation and preservation

Rainwater harvesting

Water conservation

Alternative energy production, e.g., solar, microhydro

“Fix-it” skills

Accessing gov’t rebates and incentives

Hands-on social-change (protest safety, gov’t pressure campaigns)

Other (please specify)

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* 10. Do you have any skills that you would like to share with the community?

Yes

If yes, which

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* 11. What obstacles are preventing you from getting involved in climate action? Tick any that apply.

I am already involved

Too hard

Too depressing

No one else is

Don’t know what to do

It’s hopeless so why bother

What about the 1%? I am not the problem

It’s the government’s responsibility to tell me when it’s time to make changes

Other (please specify)

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* 12. Approximately 44% of emissions in Canada are under the jurisdiction of municipal/regional governments. Cortes, in it’s Official Community Plan, has declared climate change to be an important priority. Rank your level of agreement, 1 meaning you strongly disagree and 5 you strongly agree with the following statement.

The Strathcona Regional District needs to be doing much more to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

Neither agree or disagree

Clear

i We adjusted the number you entered based on the slider’s scale.

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* 13. Would you like to be contacted for workshops and collective action?

Yes

If yes, please leave your contact information