April 22 is Earth Day, an annual event that highlights environmental concerns and encourages civic action. This year’s Earth Day comes amid widespread global concern about climate change.
Here are five facts about how people perceive climate change globally, from a study Pew Research Center Survey 2018 on how people rate eight potential threats, as well as other surveys conducted by the Center. (For more on how Americans view climate change, see our companion article, “How Americans perceive climate change in 5 graphs. “)
1
In most countries surveyed, majorities believe that global climate change poses a major threat to their country. In fact, it is considered the top threat in 13 of the 26 countries surveyed, more than any other issue covered in the survey.
In Greece, citizens express a very high level of concern, with 90% calling climate change a major threat (similar to the 88% who cite the state of the global economy in that country). South Koreans, French, Spanish and Mexicans also express serious concerns. In each of these countries, eight in ten or more people believe that climate change poses a major threat.
Americans are less likely to be concerned about climate change, with 59% considering it a serious threat. In the United States, as many people cite climate change as ISIS (62%) and North Korea’s nuclear program (58%). Americans most often cite cyberattacks as a major threat.
Russians (43%), Nigerians (41%) and Israelis (38%) are least likely to view climate change as a major threat to their country.
2A significant majority view climate change as a minor threat, if at all. In the countries studied, not all residents consider climate change to be a major threat. A median of 20% in these countries consider global warming a minor threat, while 9% consider it a minor threat. not a threat.
About half or more of Israelis and Russians say global climate change poses a minor or no threat (58% and 51%, respectively). In the United States, about a quarter (23%) think climate change poses a minor threat, while 16% say it is not a threat at all.
3Concerns about climate change have increased significantly in many countries since 2013. Share of people expressing concern about the threat of climate change around the world grew up since 2013, when the Pew Research Center first asked respondents whether they considered it a major threat to their nation. In 2013, a median of 56% across 23 countries considered climate change a major threat; in the Center’s most recent Global Attitudes survey, a median of 67% in the same countries share this view. And in 10 countries, the proportion of people considering global warming a major threat increased by at least 10 percentage points. For example, 83% of French people say this, compared to 54% in 2013, an increase of 29 points. Mexico saw a similar increase, from 52% to 80%, or 28 points.
Americans are also increasingly concerned about climate change, although their overall level of concern is lower than some other countries. Nearly six in ten Americans view climate change as a major threat (59%), up 19 points from 2013.
4
More educated people tend to be more concerned about climate change; in some countries, women and young people are also more affected. Education, gender and age are linked to assessments of climate change as a threat. In most countries studied, people with higher levels of education are more likely than those with less education to view climate change as a serious threat. For example, Hungarians with post-secondary or higher education are 11 percentage points more likely than their less-educated counterparts to say that climate change poses a major threat. Women are more likely than men to be concerned about climate change in nine of the 26 countries surveyed. In Canada, for example, 72% of women consider climate change a major threat, compared to 59% of men. Age is also associated with perceptions of climate change in some countries. In the United States, 71% of 18-29 year olds consider climate change a threat, compared to half of Americans aged 50 and over.
5
In the United States, there is a wide partisan divide on climate change. Among U.S. adults, Republicans and Republican-leaning independents are less likely than Democrats and Republican-leaning independents to express concern about climate change. About a quarter (27%) of Republicans say climate change poses a major threat, compared to more than three-quarters of Democrats (83%), a difference of 56 percentage points. Democrats have also become increasingly concerned about climate change since the question was first asked five years ago, while Republicans’ views on climate have remained roughly the same.
This trend is consistent with wide and growing political divisions among Americans. range of beliefs on climate issues.
