Public interest in environment lowest in two decades

According to a GlobeScan poll, public concern about the environment has dropped to its lowest in 20 years.

The poll, which was carried out last summer, showed that many people now have far less interest in issues such as extinct species, global warming and air pollution. The results, which spanned 22 countries, were the lowest they have been since 1992, when the first Earth summit was held in Rio.

Globally, only 49 per cent of the sample on average believed that climate change was ‘very serious’, whilst 50 per cent made similar sentiments regarding the loss of global biodiversity. The highest level of concern was for fresh water shortages at 58 per cent.

Doug Miller, chairman of GlobeScan, said in a statement: "Evidence of environmental damage is stronger than ever, but our data shows that economic crisis and a lack of political leadership mean that the public are starting to tune out."

Results from previous polls had suggested that the last decade saw a rise in public concern over environmental issues, but have declined since 2009 when the UN climate summit failed to reach any deals in Copenhagen. Analysts have argued that this distinct lack of environmental legislation has led to the public becoming disheartened over such issues.

Speaking to the Independent, Graham Thompson, a spokesman for Greenpeace, added: "The public can see that the response of our politicians is completely inadequate to the threat scientists have revealed, and that dissonance is reflected in these polls."
In each of the 22 countries involved, 1,000 people took part in the poll, with a total of 22,812 people quizzed on their opinions. Countries that were involved included China, Australia, the US, Japan, the UK, Mexico and Turkey.

Posted by Claire Manning