CLEAN research projects

Details of current and past research projects with links to further information and publications.

Climate Activism: understanding participation in non-violent, direct action 

Research Team: Lisa Fridkin, Katie Quy

A qualitative study exploring who participates in climate activism, their motivations for engaging in non-violent, direct action and associated effects on wellbeing, using qualitative interviews.  


Students’ perspectives on Higher Education in a climate impacted world 

Research Team: Lisa Fridkin, Olwenn Martin, Katie Fisher, Gwyneth Hughes, Neil Kaye, Kate Luxion, Mark Newman, Katie Quy 

Funder: UCL Grand Challenges 

A mixed methods study that centres students as active co-producers in a project exploring the role of HE institutions in preparing students for living, learning, and working in a climate changed world. It seeks to inform pedagogical approaches of HE institutions around learning and wellbeing in the context of the climate crisis.


Climate Change and Sustainability Education: A survey of students in England  

Rachael Edwards is working on qualitative dimensions of a survey with children and young people in England to explore their perceptions of climate and sustainability education. 

Past projects: Rachael has conducted numerous projects investigating how we can make greenspaces more inclusive for minority ethnic communities which she discussed as a guest on the podcast All Bodies Outside. This includes research on Muslim communities’ access to nature, cultural ecosystem services, and protected area management. Her environmental education research focuses on how the sector can reach less engaged audiences such as mechanisms for connecting technology oriented children to nature.


Extreme weather changes minds on climate in England 

People, especially those who are politically right leaning, are more likely to believe in climate change after encountering extreme weather up close, finds a new study by a UCL researcher.  

The study, published in European Societies by Dr Tobias Rüttenauer (IOE – Faculty of Education and Society), analysed data from more than 35,000 people across England participating in national longitudinal studies, and scrutinised them about their attitudes towards climate change. Dr Rüttenauer correlated these attitudes with their proximity to regional flooding and heatwaves and found that those who experienced extreme weather events were more likely to change their beliefs and start accepting the prevailing consensus on climate change. Moreover, the effect that these extreme weather events had on people’s attitudes increased the closer they were to the extreme weather.  

The change in beliefs was especially significant amongst individuals who identified as right-leaning and who identified as sceptical of climate change, indicating that experiencing extreme weather can change a person’s belief about climate change. Right-leaning partisans who were within one kilometre of a flood were 8.4% more likely to change their opinions about climate change, while those farther away changed their opinions at a lesser but still significant rate. Those who experienced a heat wave within the past two weeks were 10% more likely to believe in climate change afterwards, approaching a rate similar to that of individuals who support left-leaning political parties. The shifts were similar for people who proclaimed their scepticism of climate change as well, independent of their political affiliation. 

Though the research found that people are more likely to believe that climate change is occurring following these kinds of experiences, they found that it didn’t appear to affect their behaviour, for reasons that were unclear. People weren’t more likely to save energy, shop sustainably or use a low-emission method of transportation to protect the environment. This was the case across the political spectrum: regardless of political affiliation, people do not change their pro-environmental behaviour when personally confronted with extreme weather events.  

Dr Rüttenauer said, “It’s remarkable to see how much personal experience can change opinions about climate change. The results highlight the potential for transformations in individual attitudes. The crucial challenge ahead is to figure out how to turn those opinions into actions addressing climate change.”  

Dr Tobias Rüttenauer is a Lecturer in Quantitative Social Science at University College London in the IOE – Social Research Institute.  

The study has also been highlighted in The Economist and in the Understanding Society's 2024 Insights.