New research from the annual 3M State of Science Index (SOSI) reports 63 per cent of Canadians feel the COVID-19 pandemic has made them more environmentally conscious. The rise in support for the environment is being driven by younger generations, with Generation Z adults significantly more likely to exhibit this sentiment (81 per cent).
In addition, SOSI indicates that Canadians believe people should follow the science to help make the world more sustainable (90 per cent), and there’s a sense of urgency around climate change, with 84 per cent of Canadians agreeing better solutions to mitigate climate change need to be put in place immediately.
Key findings from 2021 3M State of Science Index include:
- Equally, across all generations, 90% of Canadians believe people should follow the science to help make the world more sustainable;
- Most Canadians (89%) believe that science gives hope for the future and 85% are hopeful that 2021 will be a better year than 2020 because of science;
- Ninety-three per cent of Canadians recognize scientists as being critical to our future well-being in light of the pandemic;
- Forty-four per cent of Canadians are more inspired to pursue a STEM career due to the pandemic;
- Aside from the pandemic, Canadians consider climate change to be one of the top priorities for science to solve (53 per cent)
