Essay by Eric Worrall
Although media interest in climate change is crashing, apparently lots of people still want governments to act.
The Silent Majority Paradox: Why Climate Change Has Faded from the Public Debate
Over the past decade, climate change has been one of the defining topics on the political agenda and in the media. Today, however, it is increasingly pushed to the background … What is driving this shift, and what does a weakening public climate discourse mean for global action?
‘This trend is all the more striking because the underlying climate indicators continue to deteriorate’
Interest in climate issues has not disappeared, but it has become harder to sustain. A 2025 Reuters Institute study covering eight countries found that climate news consumption is strongly linked to social background, political orientation, and how much people feel overwhelmed by a constant stream of negative news. The report emphasizes that many avoid climate news not because they are indifferent, but because they are repeatedly exposed to discouraging narratives that offer no clear avenues for action. …
…
According to a 2025 Gallup survey, Americans still worry about global warming, but the topic has slipped to the very bottom of the list of environmental issues. A similar shift can be observed in Europe: while the societal relevance of climate change did not vanish overnight, public priorities have visibly changed. The 2024 Eurobarometer survey found that living costs and inflation remain among the top concerns, while environmental and climate issues have dropped compared to previous years—now ranking only fifth among day-to-day concerns.
…The media can play a key role in making the majority position visible and thereby restoring momentum for collective action. Climate change can be brought back to the centre of attention if abstract reporting is replaced by practical analyses connected to everyday life. Positive framing and showcasing examples that actually work can help transform uncertainty into a sense of agency—and passivity into participation.
Read more: https://www.hungarianconservative.com/articles/green/climate-change-faded-public-debate/
Sorry Kinga Debisso, but you are wrong.
Media cannot prevent the collapse of interest in climate change, because media companies which focus on covering the bottom of the list of people’s priorities go broke, as US mainstream media companies are discovering the hard way.
In addition, “living costs and inflation”, which you flag as the highest priorities, are largely being caused by climate action. Politicians who want to keep their jobs have to focus on issues people care about, which increasingly means discarding climate action.
Climate concern is a luxury issue for comfortably wealthy people who don’t have anything else to worry about. Until politicians address rising high priority concerns such as cost of living, the addressing of which will require abandoning net zero and energy transition efforts, there is no chance luxury issues like climate change will regain their former dominant position in global politics.
Skeptic groups like WUWT have won the infowar on climate change, with lots of help from the sheer stupidity of engineering dyslexic greens who near broke the global economy by pushing unworkable climate solutions.
The big Covid lie helped people wake up – after people discovered how wildly Covid had been exaggerated, large numbers of people started questioning other establishment fear narratives, including the fake climate crisis.
While there is no room for complacency, the path to victory for climate focussed groups has all but disappeared.
But don’t be too quick to pop those champagne corks, those who would exploit and rule us through our fears aren’t about to pack up and go away. There is a new fake fear story is brewing, which will need every bit as much attention from people who care about liberty as the fake climate crisis did.
