We are pleased to announce SustainERA Public Research Talk #6 by Prof Wouter Poortinga, taking place on 17 February 2026.
⏱️ 02/17/2026 – 13:00 – 14:00
📍 Zoom
Wouter Poortinga is Professor of Environmental Psychology at the Welsh School of Architecture and the School of Psychology, Cardiff University, and Associate Director of the ESRC-funded Centre for Climate and Social Transformations (CAST).
He will deliver the talk “Public Engagement with Climate Change and Net Zero”.
Date and time: Tuesday, 17 February, 13:00-14:00 EET
Format: Zoom, the meeting link will be sent before the talk upon registration.
The talk summary and the speaker’s bio can be found below.
Contact
For more information about the SustainERA Research Talks series, please contact Kertu Vuks, SustainERA Junior Research Fellow, kertu.vuks@tlu.ee.
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We look forward to your participation in the SustainERA Research Talks series. Please feel free to share this information with anyone who might be interested.
Talk Summary
“Public Engagement with Climate Change and Net Zero”
Public perceptions play a pivotal role in shaping how individuals and societies respond to the challenges of climate change and the transition to a low-carbon future. Understanding how people interpret the causes, consequences, and urgency of climate change is therefore essential for designing effective and socially acceptable climate policies. This presentation explores why studying public perceptions matters. It provides a historical perspective on how climate attitudes have evolved over time, explores how worried people really are about climate change, and assesses levels of public support for Net Zero policies. Particular attention is given to the role of fairness and second-order beliefs (i.e., pluralistic ignorance) in shaping policy support, highlighting how perceptions about others’ views can inhibit collective action.
About the Speaker
Wouter Poortinga is Professor of Environmental Psychology at the Welsh School of Architecture and the School of Psychology, Cardiff University, and Associate Director of the ESRC-funded Centre for Climate and Social Transformations (CAST). His research focuses on public engagement with climate change and sustainable lifestyles and behaviours, and he is particularly interested in the attitudinal and behavioural implications of environmental policies, such as the plastic bag charge and Net Zero. Wouter led the design of the Climate Change and Energy module for Round 8 of the European Social Survey; developed the Welsh Sustainability Segmentation Model; and recently redesigned the environmental attitudes and behaviour module of the Understanding Society Survey. He currently leads the Make it Green module of the CRONOS-3 survey as part of the EU-funded Infra4NextGen project.
About SustainERA
Running from 2025–2029, the ERA Chair in Sustainable Futures project (SustainERA) at Tallinn University combines high-level research with innovative solutions to promote sustainable mindsets and practices. The project is funded by the European Commission’s Horizon Europe ERA Chair initiative.