Poll of 1.2 million people through mobile gaming networks highlights that 64 per cent of people view climate change as a global emergency
The consensus that climate change is a global emergency is more broad in the UK than any other nation in the world, according to the results of a major new poll that is being touted by the United Nations as the largest ever survey to explore public opinion on climate action.
The results of a survey of more than 1.2 million people in 50 countries published this morning by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) reveals broad global support for climate action, with 64 per cent of respondents agreeing that climate change represents a global emergency.
Concern about climate change was highest in the UK and Italy, the joint hosts of the COP26 Climate Summit set to take place this autumn. In both countries, 81 per cent of respondents said they believed climate change was a global emergency.
Levels of concern were even higher among young people, with 86 per cent of people under the age of 18 in the UK saying they believed that climate change was a global emergency. However, concern amongst older people is also high, with 78 per cent of those over the age of 60 agreeing with the statement.
The results of the survey, which has been dubbed the Peoples' Climate Vote, show that nearly three quarters of respondents in the UK - or 73 per cent - want to see greater investment in green businesses and jobs, the highest level of support registered for that proposition in all 50 countries canvassed in the poll.
The study asked people whether they supported a number of different climate policies, across energy, transport, food and farms, nature, the economy, and society. The results highlight that policies geared at conserving forests and land, deploying clean energy, rolling-out climate-friendly farming, and increasing investment in green businesses enjoy support from more than half the global population.
The results also show that support for protecting forests and land are particularly high in Brazil, Indonesia, and Argentina, countries with high rates of deforestation and land-use change, and that the majority of people in nine out of 10 of the countries with the most urbanised populations back policies that would accelerate deployment of clean transport. Meanwhile, the majority of respondents in all G20 countries surveyed want to see greater investment in green jobs and business.
The least popular policies overall were a switch to plant-based diets and more affordable insurance, with only 30 per cent of people reporting that they supported the promotion of the former, and 32 per cent the latter.
UNDP administrator Achim Steiner said the results emphasised how a significant majority of people around the globe - regardless nationalities, age, gender and education level - supported "urgent climate action".
"From climate-friendly farming to protecting nature and investing in a green recovery from Covid-19, this survey brings the voice of the people to the forefront of the climate debate," he said. "It signals ways in which countries can move forward with public support as we work together to tackle this enormous challenge."
The survey, which was distributed through mobile gaming networks in order to reach younger audiences that are typically difficult to engage in public opinion polling, suggests that younger people across the world see the climate crisis as a bigger threat than their parents. Across all countries surveyed, respondents under the age of 18 were more likely to say climate change is an emergency than older people, with 69 per cent of people under the age of 18 agreeing with the claim.
However, the study reveals that older generations are not too far behind, with 65 per cent of people aged 18 to 35, 66 per cent of those aged 36 to 59, and 58 per cent of those over 60 agreeing with the statement that the climate crisis was a global emergency.
Polling experts at the University of Oxford weighted the huge sample to make it representative of the age, gender, and education profiles of the countries in the survey, UNDP explained.
Professor Stephen Fish from the university's Department of Sociology said the survey had revealed that mobile gaming networks were an effective way to reach a diverse group of people often missed from polling exercises. "The Peoples' Climate Vote has delivered a treasure trove of data on public opinion that we've never seen before," he added. Recognition of the climate emergency is much more widespread than previously thought. We've also found that most people clearly want a strong and wide-raging policy response."
The findings also reveal a clear link between a person's level of education and their desire for climate action, with a high recognition of the climate emergency reported among those who had attended university or college in all countries.
Commenting on the findings, Richard Black, senior associate at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), said the global results were "startling in their universality, with people in every nation and every age group showing concern about the ‘climate emergency' and support for its solutions".
He encouraged the UK government to capitalise on the broad social mandate for climate action revealed by the survey and enact climate policies that would help the country meet its climate goals and set a global example in the run up to COP26 in Glasgow in the autumn. "Britons... are more concerned about climate change than any other population on Earth - a significant change from surveys done a few years ago - and very supportive of solutions," he said. "This should give encouragement to government and businesses leading the decarbonisation charge, and shows that ministers absolutely have a social licence to enact policies in the coming months that will put the UK on track to its net zero target well before the UN climate summit in Glasgow opens its doors."