The Climate Change in the Irish Mind (CCIM) project is designed to analyse the attitudes and behaviours of Irish people towards climate change. Conducted in partnership with Yale University’s ‘Programme on Climate Change Communications’ (YPCCC)', the CCIM is carried out as a nationally representative survey every two years.
The first wave of the CCIM dataset is now publicly available for download. This data has been used as a basis to formulate the following reports and outputs:
• Climate Change in the Irish Mind (2021)
• Climate Change’s Four Irelands (2022)
• Climate Opinion Maps
The CCIM wave 1 open dataset is available in SPSS (.sav) and in Comma Separated Value (.csv) formats for non-commercial purposes only. To apply for access to the data, please fill out the following form with the requested details. Once the form is signed & completed, a copy of the dataset will be sent via email. The form is available by clicking the link below.
Climate Change in the Irish Mind open data request form.
A link to the dataset will be sent via email following successful completion of the form.
Climate Change in the Irish Mind © 2021 by Irish Environmental Protection Agency is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International.
Use of the dataset in future publications will require citation of the dataset and associated creators
The CCIM Wave 1 dataset can also be supplemented by the associated data dictionary. This supporting document contains a dictionary and provides associated supporting information to the CCIM. The data dictionary contains the following information:
A list of popular FAQs associated with the Climate Change in the Irish Mind study and open dataset.
Where do the survey data underlying the estimates come from?
The data underlying the maps come from two national survey datasets (5,312 respondents) collected during May through July of 2021 and August and October 2023 as part of a collaboration between the Irish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (YPCCC). Reports using the individual-level survey data are available here:
What do these maps depict?
The maps depict estimates of the percentage of adult residents of Ireland (age 18 and over) who hold particular beliefs, attitudes, and policy preferences about climate change. The estimates were generated from a statistical model that incorporates actual survey responses but combines these responses with demographic data from the Ireland Central Statistics Office (CSO) (Census 2016 Reports - CSO - Central Statistics Office) to estimate opinions for different groups of people based on information such as their gender, age, and county of residence.
Do the maps account for differences in population density across the country?
The type of map used in this tool is called a choropleth map, which means the colours on the maps reflect the percentage of the population in a given geographic unit who would answer each question as indicated. These kinds of maps are used to represent everything from election results to census and economic data (e.g., per capita income or unemployment rates). Thus, it is important to keep in mind that some geographic areas may be large, but have few residents (e.g., Mayo), while other geographic areas may be small, but have many residents (e.g., Dublin). For reference, The Central Statistics Office has published the relevant population density information.
Do these maps reflect changes in opinions due to recent extreme weather events like Storm Ophelia/Storm Barra?
Perhaps. The maps may reflect the impacts that specific extreme weather events had on public opinion in a given geographic unit. If public opinion in a particular area has been influenced by local events it is possible that the model would detect such an influence. However, data from specific events or types of events are not explicitly built into the model as predictor variables.
How can I cite these maps?
If you publish a news article, visualization, blog post, or other publication using these maps, please include the link to the Irish Environmental Protection Agency maps page and attribution to the EPA and the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication.
