At Least 30% of Americans Remain Unafraid of the Climate Crisis

The United States emerged as the country with the largest percentage of individuals who said they are not concerned about climate change "at all" in a worldwide poll of people's attitudes to the problem and other urgent concerns.

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Survey Shows

According to an Ipsos poll issued Monday, over half of respondents (48 percent) in 31 nations are concerned about climate change.

More than 23,000 individuals worldwide were polled online from mid-February to early March to see how concerned they were about climate change in the last few weeks: a lot, a little, or not at all?

More than two-thirds of respondents in Colombia, Chile, Mexico, Argentina, and Italy indicated they were concerned about climate change a lot or a little recently. Only around a third of people in China and Russia agreed. In the United States, 38 percent indicated they were concerned about the climate catastrophe.

However, a bigger percentage of Americans than any of the other 30 countries polled stated they were "not at all" concerned about climate change.

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Climate Crisis

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Meanwhile, the real-life climate disaster ravages the United States and other countries, bringing deadly - and increasing - droughts, fires, excessive heat, storms, and floods.

Last year, we had the hottest July on record (again), the biggest single wildfire in California history (again), and disastrous hurricanes and flooding in the Gulf of Mexico and the Eastern Seaboard of the United States (again).

According to the Ipsos poll, over three-quarters of Americans believe the government (73 percent), corporations (73 percent), and people (71 percent) all have to cut fossil fuel emissions to help avoid the worst effects of the climate problem. Moreover, 60% agreed we must act now or risk failing future generations (something the United Nations agrees with).

Despite this, just around a quarter of respondents in the United States feel the government has a clear plan to address the climate catastrophe.

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Critical Issue

Climate change is the most critical issue of our time, and it is unfolding far faster than we anticipated. But, in the face of this global menace, we are far from helpless. "The climate emergency is a race we are losing, but it is a race we can win," UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in September.

Climate change is wreaking havoc on people and ecosystems all around the world. Environmental degradation, natural disasters, weather extremes, food and water insecurity, economic instability, war, and terrorism are all exacerbated by rising temperatures. Sea levels are rising, the Arctic is melting, coral reefs are dying, seas are acidifying, and forests are burning due to these factors. Business as usual would not suffice. Now is the time for strong global action as the ongoing cost of climate change approaches irreversible highs.