Introduction
This report revisits and builds on the original 2021 “The Decade That Matters” report, which analysed over 1.3 trillion public documents to build a picture of the shifting online conversation around climate change and renewable energy. It looks at the shifts in the debate over the last two years prompted by the coronavirus pandemic as well as developments in global affairs from the Russian invasion of Ukraine to the subsequent energy crisis and economic downturn. Insights are then drawn from over a billion mentions of key phrases online.
For this report, we also surveyed over 3,000 business figures and policymakers from across Europe and the US to capture their views on a global energy and climate crisis: are industry leaders and politicians in step with the developing online debate? What impact will the events of the last two years have on realising climate goals and the transition to renewable energy?
The result is an in-depth look at how policy, action and sentiment on climate action are aligned at both a national and global level.
Data sources consulted:
- More than ten years of consumer insight data indexed by digital consumer intelligence platform Brandwatch, the largest archive of consumer opinions (delivering access to over 1.3 trillion public documents – and inclusive of the full firehose of data from Twitter, Reddit and Tumblr for time covered).
- Censuswide survey of 1,519 business leaders and 1,505 policymakers from France, Germany, Spain, Italy, the UK and the US in January 2023.