Climate science's winter of discontent has not made a large impact on the British public's attitudes to global warming, according to poll of over 1,800 people.

The poll, by researchers at the University of Cardiff, showed a small drop in public acceptance of climate change but not the major falls that some observers had predicted after a series of media controversies over the actions of climate scientists, combined with the failure of the Copenhagen summit and the record-breaking cold temperatures.

"By no means has there been a collapse in confidence in climate science," said Professor Nick Pidgeon, who led the study. "If I was in policy circles I would not be complacent, but reassured that it has not been as serious as many thought it would be."

The survey showed that almost three-quarters (71%) of Britons are concerned about climate change. Some 78% think the climate is changing, which is down from 91% who said it was in a similar poll in 2005. Pidgeon said there were a number of possible explanations for the decline, including the economic crisis. "There is a theory that there is a finite pool of worry that anyone has."

The poll, carried out with Ipsos Mori, surveyed 1,822 people across England, Scotland and Wales. It took place from January to March this year, following the high-profile release of emails from climate scientists at the University of East Anglia, which critics claimed showed collusion and conspiracy among researchers, and the discovery of a mistake in the 2007 report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Green campaigners said the controversy of the UEA emails had set back efforts to tackle global warming by 20 years, while media commentators blamed it as the issue fell down the political agenda post-Copenhagen.

Pidgeon said it was difficult to examine the reasons for people's attitudes in quantitative surveys such as this. But he said unpublished work from a series of parallel focus groups with people in Bristol showed that many thought the media had exaggerated the seriousness of the email scandal. The most likely effect of the release of the emails would have been to reinforce people's existing attitudes to the issue, he said.

The poll showed that most people (71%) remain fairly or very concerned about climate change, compared to 82% in 2005. Some 40% said that the seriousness of climate change is exaggerated, while 42% disagreed. Just 20% thought there was serious disagreement among scientists about whether climate change is caused by humans, despite efforts by climate sceptics to undermine the consensus that greenhouse gas emissions drive global warming. Some 70% of people said it was their responsibility to act on climate change, while 63% thought they could change their behaviour to help. More than two-thirds (68%) said they would vote in favour of spending taxpayers money on British projects to tackle climate change.

The poll also examined people's attitudes to nuclear power and found it had become slightly more acceptable to the public, in particular as part of efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But there was still "no ringing endorsement" for expanding nuclear, Pidgeon said.

The results come as a similar survey in the US shows that public concern about global warming is on the rise. The research, from experts at Yale and George Mason universities, showed that belief among the US public that global warming is happening has risen 4% since January, to 61%. Those who accept it is caused by human activity rose 3% to 50%. And the number of US citizens who said that the issue is personally important to them rose 5%, to 63%.

"The stabilisation and slight rebound in public opinion is occurring amid signs the economy is starting to recover, along with consumer confidence, and as memories of unusual snowstorms and scientific scandals recede," said Anthony Leiserowitz, director of the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication. "The BP oil disaster is also reminding the public of the dark side of dependence on fossil fuels, which may be increasing support for clean energy policies."