Two-thirds of UK adults believe the government should be doing more to combat climate change, according to a new survey commissioned by The Climate Coalition of NGOs.
Speaking to Premier, Andy Lester, Conservation Director for Christian environmental charity A Rocha, said the public is right to be concerned as climate change is crucial issue.
"Climate change in the long term is a far bigger threat than Coronavirus or the political situation in America or Brexit. We're dealing with some immediate crises that are pretty dramatic, pretty shocking, but pale into insignificance compared to climate change, and what's potentially in store for us."
The 60 per cent figure represents a ten per cent increase in comparison to 2017. Mr Lester believes the growth is to due people seeing the impact of climate change in the past few years, such as "recent summers with record-breaking heat, recent autumn and winters where we've had some major flood events, and not just once every ten years, but once every other year.
"Even our own British weather no longer feels very British. And, more and more, people are adding these things up and going 'This is not right. We need to do something about it. We need to do something about it urgently,"" he said.
The Government has pledged to reduce emissions by at least two thirds by 2030, compared with 1990 levels, and is also preparing to host the UN COP26 Climate Summit this autumn.
Although the Government has made progress in terms of its stated climate policies, Andy Lester believes it is still sending mixed messages.
"At the same time as they're saying they want to be the greenest government ever and take climate change really seriously, they're giving permission for a big new coal mine in Cumbria near the Lake District.
"There's progress being made, but the speed and pace is too slow. The level of hypocrisy is still too great. We need to see that hypocrisy disappear. We need to see the speed of change rapidly ratcheted up if we're going to be able to meet the targets that they are promoting".
Mr Lester believes this year is a "critical" one and thinks Christians are "waking up" to the urgent action needed. He wants to encourage Christians to pray for the Government and for the church to take a clear lead on climate change.
"We need to pray that governments are courageous, that our Government is courageous," he said.
"We need to pray that the church really takes a lead. From the Church of England, right across to the Pentecostal church and everything in-between. All churches need to work together to bring transformation and hope to our nation."