🌎 The vast majority believe in climate change and want to do something about it (but think others don't)

Our World In Data has an interesting compilation of what people believe about climate change, and what they think others believe.

The percentage of people who believe that climate change is real and is a serious problem is high. A study published in Science, where 59,000 people in 63 countries were surveyed, showed that 86 percent "believe" in climate change.

This is the case in all countries. Even in the country with the lowest belief in climate change, the figure was 73 percent.

Support for taking action against climate change is also very high. A study published in Nature Climate Change surveyed 130,000 people in 125 countries. 89 percent wanted to see more political action. 86 percent think that people in their country "should try to fight global warming".

Again, there is broad agreement between countries.

Even in the U.S.

The US is often highlighted in the context of climate change, and there is a lively political debate about climate change there. However, the public opinion is not as divided. 77 percent of Americans believe in climate change. This matches several other surveys. Between 70% and 83% of Americans answered "yes" in a range of surveys focused on whether humans were causing climate change, whether it was a concern, and a threat to humanity.

79 percent of Americans want more to be done to combat climate change.

But people don't believe that others want to

A study showed that 69 percent of participants were willing to give 1 percent of their income to fight climate change, but they believed on average that only 43 percent of others in their country would say the same.

This misunderstanding was not limited to a few countries but is a global phenomenon.
Time to discuss the solutions

Hanna Ritchie concludes:

"As researchers concerned about climate change, we still need to discuss its damaging impacts. But we need to shift much of the conversation towards solutions — what they are, how effective they are, what the benefits might be. That is the current roadblock to reducing emissions, not the recognition that we need to do so. The majority — in all countries — agree."

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