The results of the People’s Climate Vote, a survey conducted by the UN Development Programme (UNDP), covered over 50 countries and polled over 1.2 million people to assess public opinion on climate change. UNDP said that the poll was the world’s biggest survey ever of public opinion on climate change. It asked respondents if climate change was a global emergency and if so whether they supported 18 climate policies across six action areas: economy, transport, food and farms, nature, energy and protecting people.
The survey was conducted between October and December of 2020 by distributing poll questions through adverts in mobile gaming apps such as Words with Friends, Angry Birds, or Subway surfers. This also meant the people surveyed included half a million people under 18, a key group on climate change as they are typically unable to vote in elections. The poll, designed by a team at the University of Oxford, weighted the huge sample of answers to ensure it was representative of age, gender and education profiles of the countries in the survey. For some countries, this is the first time the UN has had access to gather and analyze information on public opinion on climate change and policy solutions. These perspectives are vital as the world prepares for COP26 and governments are in the process of developing new national climate pledges called nationally determined contributions under the Paris Agreement.
Results of the survey show that the climate emergency is much more widespread than previously thought, and there is a direct link between a person’s level of education, age and desire for climate action.
UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner said: “The results of the survey clearly illustrate that urgent climate action has broad support amongst people around the globe, across nationalities, age, gender and education level. But more than that, the poll reveals how people want their policymakers to tackle the crisis. From climate-friendly farming to protecting nature and investing in a green recovery from COVID-19, the survey brings the voice of the people to the forefront of the climate debate. It signals ways in which countries can move forward with public support as we work together to tackle this enormous challenge.”
Three-quarters of Canadian surveyed agreed that climate change is an emergency, compared with the global average of 64 per cent. That belief was highest amongst respondents under 18 at 83 percent, but was still 72 per cent at over 60. The survey also found that 69 per cent favoured a polluter pay principle, like the GGPPA the liberals introduced. This information may be critical as the Supreme Court has yet to announce its decision on the constitutionality of the GGPA. Interestingly, Canada has the largest gap of any country between men and women in their assessment of the importance of climate change, with women and girls 12 per cent more likely to rate climate change as an emergency than men.
As there is a strong likelihood the Trudeau government may call for an election this spring or fall, they should pay attention to the results of this survey as it seems the majority of Canadians are concerned about climate change and will support an ambitious climate program. The rigorous data analysis, conducted by pollsters at Oxford, means survey data only results in a small margin of error (+/- 2 per cent).