There is great concern, and so is the desire for action: a UN survey on climate change is a warning to politicians and business people. The majority of the 75,000 people surveyed hope for more cooperation.
Climate change has apparently never been so preoccupying for people. Four out of five respondents around the world are seriously concerned about global warming. The United Nations (UN) survey conveys a clear message, says the head of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), Achim Steiner: “What was most astonishing to me was that over 80 percent of respondents worldwide expressed their expectation that their government, their economy, their communities and mayors must do more to address climate change.”
This means, above all, more speed in the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energies. Most people are aware that countries cannot do this alone. According to Steiner, 86 percent of respondents worldwide believe that countries and governments must put aside their conflicts and differences in order to work more closely together to combat climate change. “I don’t think anyone expected such a clear signal,” he says.
75,000 respondents took part in the survey
The UNDP’s “Climate Vote” in collaboration with Oxford University is the largest public opinion poll on climate change ever conducted. 75,000 respondents from 77 countries represent a large proportion of the world’s population.
They see the pressure to act, says the highest-ranking German UN diplomat: “I believe we live in a world today where we no longer talk about climate change as a future phenomenon, but people experience it either themselves every day, somewhere in the world or through the news.” Reports show that drought, flooding and extreme weather conditions are now affecting millions of people.
Stronger measures are advocated
The survey found that the populations of 20 of the world’s biggest climate polluters – including the US, Russia, China and Germany – support stronger action. In many ways, people feel that their respective governments are not supporting them enough when it comes to climate protection.
According to Steiner, in some countries – including Germany – there is an awareness and recognition of the many climate-related decisions of the past. “And yet this summer, and last year and the years before, we are experiencing again how vulnerable we have become in a time when climate change is no longer something that is, so to speak, science fiction,” he says.
“This also divides societies”
Among the Germans surveyed, women in particular are pushing for more and faster climate protection measures. The results of the representative survey show that the broad majority of people are surprisingly in agreement that politics and business must act more quickly, says UNDP chief Steiner. Climate change is not just something that has to do with CO2 emissions or with new technologies or with electromobility. “It has to do with jobs, with income, with costs that people bear,” says Steiner. “All of this is sometimes, I would say, instrumentalized in politics. And that divides people. It also divides societies.”
The fear of economic change is understandable. But it is often based on disinformation, says Steiner. And he points to success stories: some countries in Africa and Latin America now produce over 90 percent of their electricity with renewable energy. Ten years ago, that would have been unimaginable.