People in Global South are most worried about climate change, survey finds

As global business leaders, policymakers and civil society representatives prepare for Climate Week in NYC (Sept. 22-29), our latest Radar public opinion polling results reiterate the urgency of the climate crisis, especially in countries we surveyed in Latin America and Africa and the Middle East.

While worries about climate change are strong globally with just over 6 in 10 saying that climate change is a “very serious” problem, GlobeScan’s exploration of public concern shows that people in some regions in the Global South tend to be more worried about the changing climate than those in Europe and North America. Our research finds that nearly 8 in 10 people in the countries surveyed in Latin America and two-thirds of those in Africa and the Middle East say that climate change is very serious. In contrast, over half in North America (U.S. and Canada) and nearly 6 in 10 in Europe perceive climate change to be a very serious problem.

What does this mean?

These results show that although majorities everywhere worry about climate change, those more vulnerable to its effects tend to express the most concern. Despite their relatively low contributions to global greenhouse gas emissions, Global South countries such as those we surveyed in Africa and the Middle East and Latin America are more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change including rising sea levels, flooding, drought and other extreme weather events. Pressure for climate justice in global climate talks will only increase as governments and businesses in the Global North will be expected to do more to bolster resilience and adaptation to climate change in the Global South.

Based on a largely representative online survey of over 30,000 people across 31 countries and territories, Radar draws upon GlobeScan’s unique database of over two decades of polling public opinion about people’s outlook toward societal actors and the issues affecting them.

Survey question: For each of the following possible global problems, please indicate if you see it as a very serious, somewhat serious, not very serious, or not at all serious problem: – Climate change or global warming

Source: GlobeScan Radar Trends Report (survey of 30,216 people in the general public in July-August 2024).