Popular climate vote 2024the largest ever standalone poll on climate change also showed that 80 percent of respondents support more ambitious climate action.
“The people’s climate vote is loud and clear,” saidUNDP Manager Achim Steiner.
“Global citizens want their leaders to transcend their differences, act now and act boldly to combat the climate crisis.”
The second edition of the survey surveyed communities around the world about how countries are tackling the climate change that is causing extreme weather, flooding and temperature spikes across the planet, affecting countries large and small.
‘Truly astonishing’ consensus
The UNDP chief said the survey results “reveal a level of consensus that is truly astonishing.”
“We urge leaders and policymakers to take note of this, especially as countries develop their next round of climate action pledges – or ‘nationally determined contributions (NDCs)’ under the Paris Agreement”, said Mr Steiner.
“This is an issue that almost everyone, everywhere, can agree on.”
Rapid transition to clean energy
The research was conducted in collaboration with the University of Oxford and GeoPoll and surveyed more than 75,000 people speaking 87 different languages in 77 countries with 15 questions about climate change.
The results provide a snapshot per country of where global citizens stand, including when it comes to development towards sustainability.
A majority of people in 62 of 77 countries surveyed said they supported a rapid transition from fossil fuels to clean energy.
Climate anxiety
People around the world also reported that climate change was on their minds.
Globally, 56 percent said they thought about it daily or weekly, including about 63 percent of those from least developed countries (LDCs).
More than half of people worldwide say they are more concerned about climate change than last year.
The corresponding figure was 59 percent in the least developed countries, and up to 71 percent in nine countries small island states in developing countries (SIDS) expressed the same sentiment.
A total of 69 percent of respondents said their big decisions, such as where to live or work, are affected by climate change, with varying results across regions, from 74 percent in the least developed countries to 52 percent in Western and Northern Europe and 42 percent in North America.
The message is clear
At the global launch at UN Headquarters in New York, Cassie Flynn, UNDP Global Director for Climate Change, said “the message is clear,” and explained what lies ahead.
“As we move forward, we must make the people’s voices heard in the debate (on climate change),” she said.
“The next two years represent one of the best opportunities we have as an international community to ensure warming remains below 1.5°C,” she said. “We stand ready to support policymakers to accelerate their efforts in developing their climate action plans through our Climate Promise initiative.”
The first Peoples’ Climate Vote took place in 2021 and surveyed people in 50 countries through ads on popular mobile gaming apps. Click here for the results of that study.
