Climate change is perceived across the globe as one of the biggest risks to society. In fact, climate change impacts such as extreme weather events and climate tipping points were ranked by respondents worldwide as the most severe risks to society, according to a 2024 survey.
And while a global average of 86 percent of people see climate change as a threat, opinions on other subjects like what to do against climate change and the media coverage of the matter are more polarized.
Opinion on actions against climate change
While there appears to be a consensus on the urgency of tackling climate change, the perceived impact of different actions on reducing greenhouse gas emissions varies.
In a 2024 survey, switching to purchasing renewable electricity and recycling were seen as having the most impact on reducing emissions.
In contrast, less than ten percent of survey respondents said having a vegan diet would have the same effect.
Moreover, roughly one-quarter of global respondents believed that changing their behavior would not have any impact on tackling climate change. Nonetheless, measures such as financial incentives or tax cuts were seen as good encouragement to incentivize more action against climate change, as it would allow respondents to make more environmentally friendly purchases.
Having easy access to information on possible daily actions was also seen as one of the main incentives to encourage climate action.
Reaction to media coverage
Scientists and official international institutions such as the UN are considered the most trusted sources of information about climate change around the world. Meanwhile, the news media was on average trusted by less than half of respondents in most countries surveyed.
There are still several obstacles to misinformation and fake news, which makes trust in climate journalism dwindle.
Around a quarter of the respondents to a survey in 2024 stated that they have encountered false or misleading news or information about climate change.
In countries like India, the rate of climate misinformation in media outlets rose to 43 percent.
According to a different study carried out in 2023, only 44 percent of interviewees across 14 countries trusted journalists to tell the truth when it comes to climate change issues.
Regardless of the scientific evidence that climate change will substantially affect communities across the globe, there is still skepticism about the impacts it will have on future generations.
There is nevertheless a firm consensus that climate change is real and is already perturbing human livelihoods, though public opinion discrepancies are still shown in subjects like media trustworthiness and the actions needed to try to slow down the impacts of a changing climate.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct.
Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.
By: Erick Burgueño Salas
Source: www.statista.com
