Climate Action

These are the places with the most climate change deniers

Where does your country rank for the number of climate change deniers?

Where does your country rank for the number of climate change deniers? Image: REUTERS/Stringer

Emma Charlton
Senior Writer, Forum Agenda

While there’s widespread scientific consensus that the world is getting warmer, it seems some climate change deniers still need convincing.

In the US, 6% of people say climate change isn’t real, and 9% don’t attribute global warming to human action, according to a survey by YouGov.

The number of climate change deniers is low across the world
The number of climate change deniers is low across the world Image: YouGov

On the plus side, the survey shows a widespread awareness of climate change, something that’s been reinforced in recent years by campaigners including Greta Thunberg, who made a passionate plea for action at the United Nations.

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The majority of respondents in the YouGov study of 30,000 people in 28 economies acknowledge climate change is happening and that humanity is at least partly responsible. People in India were most likely to think that way, followed by those in Thailand and Spain.

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Environmental issues are central to the World Economic Forum’s work, with the Global Risks Report 2019 showing that decision makers see climate change policy failures as one of the gravest future threats.

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What’s the World Economic Forum doing about climate change?

While this report highlights a minority of climate change deniers, scientists say climate impacts could hit much harder and sooner than previously predicted. A new United Nations report shows a record level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and the organization is calling for more radical action on solutions.

The survey shows it’s not too late to combat climate change – but also that drastic action is needed.

With only a few climate change deniers, there is an optimism for tackling climate change
With only a few climate change deniers, there is an optimism for tackling climate change Image: YouGov

The United Nations is spearheading a global call to individual action, with its ActNow campaign to raise awareness, ambition and action for climate change.

And one of the positive messages from the YouGov survey is that many people understand the need to take action and adjust their consumption patterns and that the number of climate change deniers is pretty low across the globe.

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