40% of the world have not heard of climate change

8 June 2010

The YouTube video which is embedded below is a presentation by Dr Anthony Leiserowitz of Yale University of the results of the lastest Gallup survey of attitudes of people throughout the world to climate change.  The survey has been carried out annually since 2006 and has a huge scope with nearly half a million people having been polled up to now. Although Dr Leiserowitz obviously believes in manmade climate change and the need to act to combat it, the figures provide interesting reading whatever your views.

The headline states that 40% of the world have not heard of climate change, but in fact the 40% figure includes those who answered “Do Not Know” and those who refused to answer the question, as well as those who actually said they had not heard of climate change.  It also, as Dr Leiserowitz carefully points out, does not mean that 40% have not experienced changes in climate themselves.   However, this headline figure is a good indication of how many people, usually the most disadvantaged by poverty and lack of education, are not aware of the debate and so have very little voice in deciding how the issue should be tackled.

http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/B3R6VE4EvnU&hl=en_GB&fs=1&rel=0

The analysis by country is fascinating and makes the video well worth watching. The results of the first question, on awareness, are not that surprising, with the developed world most aware of the debate and Africa & South Asia the areas least aware. Some countries have over 70% of their population unaware and because of their large populations India & China have by far the largest number of inhabitants who are unaware. The example of Bangladesh is used to analyse the huge gap in awareness between those who are highly educated (98% aware) and those who are mainly or totally uneducated (under 30%).

But the question of belief in the causes of climate change presents a different geographical picture, with the USA joining India and a number of African countries as those with the highest belief that climate change is due to natural causes. Also, it is the countries of South America, particularly Brazil, who feel the risk to them from climate change is the highest.

Finally, despite the differing views, it is interesting to note that in nearly all the countries which are major carbon emitters, there is a majority of those who are aware who state that their governments should be doing more.

For more details of this report and similar work, visit the Yale Project Climate Change Communication website

Eclectic views on climate change

4 June 2010

Because the AIBs (international media excellence awards) this year include a People’s Choice category for the best TV coverage of climate change, I have been looking at the online coverage on this subject and the wide range of different views expressed.  It is a fascinating subject because of the way it affects, or may affect, different nations and peoples around the world (listen, for example to an interview with a campaigner from Samoa talking about climate justice) and also because of the widely differing views on the subject from fervent climate change disbelievers (e.g. Watts Up with That) to those who have made careers out of propounding manmade climate change (e.g. Al Gore)

But it is interesting to see other angles taken on climate change – from Ecological Buddhism’s view of the morality of mankind treating nature as a resource to be cared for, through those who care passionately about the effect on people living at the margins (see Oxfam’s website, for example) to those who focus on green technologies as business opportunities as well as necessary for our future (e.g. Clean Technology Business Review).

If you do not have a set viewpoint, it is difficult to make sense of all the conflicting claims and studies.  Thank goodness for sites like “Information is beautiful”, in particular the blog post putting arguments from opposing views on climate change side by side with the data graphed inbetween.  It is a really useful infographics tool to allow readers to make informed decisions themselves.

It can be difficult to make up your mind on the arguments, but once you have, you can be sure of finding a group who is championing the point of view on which you decide.