Despite the overwhelming importance of the Copenhagen negotiations to the future international response to climate change there is a danger that it will not translate into action closer to home.

One of the big challenges behind climate change is about how we bridge the need for large-scale international action with behaviour change and a more localised response. Too often, many people cite climate change as an issue remote from their own daily lives. If climate change is all about international summits in other parts of the world what does it have to do with my life? So, it is encouraging to see the breadth of support for international action in the ippr’s new research, even if the public are qualified in their views.

The challenges of climate change require significant action to be taken by both international leaders and local communities. The prime minister and senior ministers have shown real leadership in pushing for an ambitious and funded outcome from Copenhagen. But we will only achieve the level of emission cuts we need if we can bring together a coalition for change in every community, both at home and abroad. High-level strategic policies need to be matched with practical action that can be taken by every family and in every home and workplace. The scale of this challenge is reinforced by the ippr’s new work and recent events in Copenhagen. The balancing act is to ensure that the slow progress on a new treaty does not leave people feeling that their own individual contribution will not make a difference.

People with a closer connection to climate change, through improving their energy efficiency and making positive choices, are much more likely to support a financial package to help developing nations making the transition to a low carbon economy. On a small scale, the ippr reveal much greater public understanding of the importance of climate change than some other recent polls, although Conservative inclined voters are significantly less likely to support international action. This is not just about the strength and effectiveness of the government’s case. It is also down to the growth in local community groups and campaigns on this issue in recent years, from transition towns and projects like Green Streets through to school campaigns and local action promoting green energy. In my own area, the Energy Saving Trust has just joined up with community activists and transition town supporters in Wolverton to develop their ideas around a green community.

It is not surprising, however, that the ippr have found that more people are concerned about jobs and the economy rather than climate change. We are still in the foothills of recovery from the recession. But at the same time, we must realise that there will be even greater economic consequences if we fail to act. SERA’s own research shows that many in the poorest communities of the UK are already experiencing financial hardship as a result of climate change, as immigrant communities struggle to send money home to help their families in drought or flood hit parts of the world such as Bangladesh or Uganda. While they might not feature strongly in the ippr research, for these voters climate change is no longer a future issue but very much about today and an issue that they want to see the government providing international help to tackle.

While these communities might have made connections not made by the majority of voters that the ippr spoke to, we have to take everyone with us if we’re to succeed. The big prize will come from linking together future economic prosperity with the development of new green jobs. We can only achieve this though with a sense of ambition and shared understanding of the scale of the challenge.