fbpx ...

Climate Change Ranks as a ‘Global Emergency’: Largest Ever Climate Poll

climate change mitigation strategy

The UN Development Programme’s “People’s Climate Vote” poll has been described as the largest ever climate poll taken showed that people supported increased comprehensive policies to battle climate change. This international poll was carried out in 50 countries and covering 56% of the world’s population with 1.2 million respondents.

The full report may be accessed and downloaded here.

Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator via a news release said: “The results of the survey clearly illustrate that urgent climate action has broad support amongst people around the globe, across nationalities, age, gender and education level,”.

The poll results also showed how people wanted their policymakers to handle the climate crisis.

“From climate-friendly farming to protecting nature, and investing in a green recovery from COVID-19, the survey brings the voice of the people to the forefront of the climate debate. It signals ways in which countries can move forward with public support as we work together to tackle this enormous challenge,” Mr. Steiner added.

The UNDP poll which was the world’s biggest survey ever of public opinion on climate change was conducted as countries prepare for negotiations at November’s COP26, the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The survey asked respondents if they saw climate change as a global emergency and if they supported 18 key climate policies across six action areas: economy, energy, transport, food and farms, nature, and protecting people.  

The target audience of 1.2 million also includes over 500,000 people under the age of 18, which is an important climate change constituency that is usually unable to vote in elections. Innovations such as using mobile gaming networks for distributions were used to ensure that such a young audience was reached.

According to UNDP, polling experts at the University of Oxford weighted the huge sample to make it representative of the age, gender, and education population profiles of the countries in the survey, resulting in small margins of error (+/- 2 percent).

The results of the polls showed that people were in support of “broad climate policies”, more than what the current situation is, the UNDP said.

For example, 8 of the 10 countries surveyed with the highest greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector had a majority support an increase in renewable energy. In 4 out of 5 countries with the highest emissions from land-use change and enough data on policy preferences, most respondents were in support of conserving land and forests. 9 out of 10 of the countries with the most urbanized populations backed more use of clean electric cars and buses or bicycles.   

The survey also discovered a direct link between an individual’s education level and their desire for climate action. There was extremely “high recognition of the climate emergency among those who had attended university or college in all countries, from lower-income countries such as Bhutan (82 per cent) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (82 per cent) to wealthy countries like France (87 per cent) and Japan (82 per cent).”

Survey results also highlighted that while those under 18 were more inclined to call climate change an ’emergency’, other age groups weren’t far behind, with 65% of respondents aged18-35; 66% of respondents aged 36-59; and 58% of respondents aged 60 and above expressing the same affirmation.

UNDP’s four key findings were:

1. The majority of people believe we are in a climate emergency. When asked “Do you think climate change is a global emergency?” 64 percent of the respondents said yes.

2.  Here are the four most popular policies in the 50 countries in the survey.

·      Conserve forests and land (54 percent)

·      Invest in solar, wind and renewable power (53 percent)

·      Promote climate-friendly farming techniques (52 percent)

·      Investing in green businesses and jobs (50 percent)

3. Education makes a huge difference.  The results showed that the most profound socio-demographic indicator of belief in the climate emergency and climate action is a person’s education.

4. The next generation gives us hope. In every country, more young people (69 percent) than older people (58 percent) believe climate change is an emergency. However, other age groups are not far behind with 65 percent of those aged 18-35 and 66 percent aged 36-59 agreeing.

“[This] illustrated how widely held this view has become,” said UNDP.

 

Image credit: UNDP Bhutan

Share this article on your social networks

Related Posts

Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Country: Understanding the Global Impact

Greenhouse gas emissions by country: Understanding the global impact. In this article, we will take a closer look at the top greenhouse gas emitting countries, sources of emissions, and efforts being made by countries to reduce emissions through increasing the use of renewable energy and improving energy efficiency.

Read More
GHG Reporting: Understanding and Mitigating Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Greenhouse gas (GHG) reporting is the process of measuring, reporting, and ultimately reducing an organization’s emissions. In this article, we will explore the basics of GHG reporting including its importance in understanding and reducing emissions, the process of GHG reporting, the standards and protocols available, and the challenges that organisations may face

Read More
5 key takeouts from the new IPCC Climate Report

The most recent 3.675 pages IPCC report has been hailed as the most searing indictment of the planet’s climate predicament. Here are 5 key takeouts.

Read More
Overwhelming majority of Australians look to Brands to make a climate difference

The research, released today at Nine’s State of the Nation Sustainability virtual event, showed that despite everyday Australians making changes to live more sustainably, the majority feel that as a country, we are not doing enough, and brands need to lead the way.

Read More
67% of retail investors now prefer ESG investments

According to new research from behavioural finance experts, Oxford Risk, two out of three retail investors are considering transferring their investments into ESG propositions.

Read More
Massive and rapid swing. 75% of Australian businesses leaders believe world is at climate change tipping point: Deloitte Report

Australian business leaders are becoming a lot more concerned about climate change. This shift is according to a new report and it shows a significant shift in opinion in just 8 months.

Read More
Climate Impact Measurement and Disclosure Growing Quickly Among Businesses

Many of the world’s biggest organisations have begun to share information concerning their carbon footprint in a new move that embraces transparency as organisations are increasingly seeing value in measuring their impact.

Read More
Explosive research for Australian businesses: people are turning down high paying jobs for 1 surprising reason

employed by a company that did not do its part to address climate change.

Read More
Australia Ranks Last Out Of 60 Nations For Climate Crisis Response Policy

Australia’s government policy response to the climate crisis was ranked last in an assessment of 60 nations released at the current global climate summit in Glasgow

Read More