This text initially appeared on Inside Local weather Information, a nonprofit, unbiased information group that covers local weather, vitality and the surroundings. It’s republished with permission. Join their publication right here.
Most individuals are “very” or “extraordinarily” involved concerning the state of the pure world, a brand new international public opinion survey reveals.
Roughly 70 p.c of twenty-two,000 folks polled on-line earlier this 12 months agreed that human actions have been pushing the Earth previous “tipping factors,” thresholds past which nature can’t recuperate, like lack of the Amazon rainforest or collapse of the Atlantic Ocean’s currents. The identical variety of respondents mentioned the world wants to scale back carbon emissions inside the subsequent decade.
Slightly below 40 p.c of respondents mentioned technological advances can clear up environmental challenges.
The World Commons survey, performed for 2 collectives of “financial thinkers” and scientists generally known as Earth4All and the World Commons Alliance, polled folks throughout 22 international locations, together with low-, middle- and high-income nations. The survey’s acknowledged intention was to evaluate public opinion about “societal transformations” and “planetary stewardship.”
The outcomes, launched Thursday, spotlight that individuals dwelling below various circumstances appear to share worries concerning the well being of ecosystems and the environmental issues future generations will inherit.
Discover the newest information about what’s at stake for the local weather throughout this election season.
However there have been some regional variations. Individuals dwelling in rising economies, together with Kenya and India, perceived themselves to be extra uncovered to environmental and local weather shocks, like drought, flooding, and excessive climate. That group expressed larger ranges of concern concerning the surroundings, although 59 p.c of all respondents mentioned they’re “very” or “extraordinarily” anxious about “the state of nature at this time,” and one other 29 p.c are at the least considerably involved.
People are included within the international majority, however a extra complicated image emerged within the particulars of the survey, performed by Ipsos.
Roughly one in two People mentioned they aren’t very or by no means uncovered to environmental and local weather change dangers. These perceptions distinction sharply with empirical proof displaying that local weather change is having an influence in almost each nook of the USA. A warming planet has intensified hurricanes battering coasts, droughts placing center American farms, and wildfires threatening properties and air high quality throughout the nation. And local weather shocks are driving up costs of some meals, like chocolate and olive oil, and shopper items.
People additionally largely consider they don’t bear accountability for international environmental issues. Solely about 15 p.c of US respondents mentioned that high- and middle-income People share accountability for local weather change and pure destruction. As an alternative, they attribute essentially the most blame to companies and governments of rich international locations.
These survey responses recommend that at the least half of People could not really feel they’ve any pores and skin within the recreation in relation to addressing international environmental issues, based on Geoff Dabelko, a professor at Ohio College and skilled in environmental coverage and safety.
Translating concern concerning the surroundings to precise change requires folks to consider they’ve one thing at stake, Dabelko mentioned. “It’s troubling that People aren’t making that connection.”
Whereas fossil gas firms have lengthy campaigned to form public notion in a approach that absolves their trade of fault for ecosystem destruction and local weather change, particular person habits does play a task. People have a number of the highest per-capita consumption charges on the planet.
The world’s wealthiest 10 p.c are answerable for almost half the world’s carbon emissions, together with ecosystem destruction and associated social impacts. For example, American consumption of gold, tropical hardwoods like mahogany and cedar and different commodities has been linked to the destruction of the Amazon rainforest and assaults on Indigenous folks defending their territories from extractive actions.
The USA is without doubt one of the world’s wealthiest international locations and residential to 38 p.c of the world’s millionaires (the biggest share). However an individual doesn’t must be a millionaire to suit inside the cohort of the world’s wealthiest. People with out youngsters incomes greater than $60,000 a 12 months after tax, and households of three with an after-tax family earnings above $130,000, are within the richest 1 p.c of the world’s inhabitants.
United Nations emissions hole studies have mentioned that to succeed in international local weather objectives, the world’s wealthiest folks should reduce their private emissions by at the least a issue of 30. Excessive-income People’ emissions footprint is essentially a consequence of way of life decisions like dwelling in massive properties, flying usually, choosing private automobiles over public transportation, and conspicuous consumption of quick vogue and different shopper items.