The government and ecological campaign groups need to change their approach if they are to convince the British public to take effective action to combat climate change, according to a new report.

Global warming is now one of the issues at the top of the agenda for the media and politicians, but a study by the Institute for Public Policy Research (ippr) found that the general public do not feel the same way.

Researchers discovered that many Britons are suspicious about the government's motives for promoting anti-climate change measures and believe that there is little point adopting energy-saving behaviour when other countries are not doing so.

They also found that many members of the public do not like the way green messages are delivered, claiming they are bored of hearing them, unhappy at being made to feel guilty about their lifestyles and view ecological campaigners as "smug".

The ippr believes the public can be made to listen and act, but only if the message is delivered in a way which appeals to them and makes clear the benefits of implementing energy saving measures.

Simon Retallack, the thinktank's head of climate change, said: "Success will lie in convincing consumers that in adopting lower-carbon lifestyles they can save money and have control in a chaotic world, and they can do the right thing and look good without being an environmentalist."

He also suggested it is time for the people he described as the usual suspects to step aside and let individuals who the public can identify with more easily deliver the climate change message.

It would be all too easy to dismiss the findings as members of the public being too sensitive or even just too lazy to act.

But the public will have as big a role to play in fighting global warming as governments, so campaigners need to be prepared to take criticism like this on board and change their approach so they are speaking to people in a way they understand.