Research has shown that endorsement of scientific research is strongly related to support for scientific policies.

Public support is essential for the effective implementation of environmental policies, especially to counter climate change.

Despite consensus among scientists, public support lags behind a lot of climate change facts and mitigation methods.

New Zealand and Australian researchers reviewed a dataset of 400,000 teens to look for links between endorsement of scientific research and support for pro-environmental policies.

Rather than scientific literacy - a basic science knowledge - they found that endorsement of scientific research was more strongly related to support for environmental policies.

The researchers said this endorsement came in the form of perceiving science as a valuable way of accumulating knowledge, and that it could be increased with intervention.

The full report is accessible here.