Global view on climate change as Biden attends COP26 meeting

President Joe Biden is in Europe this weekend to attend COP26, the UN conference on climate change. The summit comes after a UN panel reported in August that urgent action is needed to avoid the devastating impacts of climate change.

A recent Pew Research Center survey explored how people around the world view the issue of climate change and the international response, and how they make policy decisions such as Biden’s decision to rejoin the Paris Agreement. What you are looking at is recorded. Below is a summary of the key findings from these and other surveys ahead of COP26.

• During President Donald Trump’s presidency, people around the world disparaged the United States and many of his policies were globally unpopular. More than half of those polled said they were confident Biden would do the right thing in world affairs. Across the 12 countries surveyed this year and in 2020, a median of 75% said they trusted Biden, compared with 17% of Trump last year. Biden’s decision to recommit to the Paris climate deal was also well received. In his 2021 global survey of the same, a median 85% of the public surveyed approved of the US rejoining the treaty. In Europe, about nine-tenths more in his six countries surveyed support the move, with broad support from respondents in the Netherlands, Germany and the UK. Almost eight-tenths more also supported the decision in Canada and the Asia-Pacific region.

• In the same survey, people around the world expressed widespread concern about the impact of global climate change on individuals. A median of 72% said they were at least somewhat concerned that they would be personally harmed by climate change in their lifetime. Far fewer (19% and 11%, respectively) said they had little or no interest.Percentage of adults who answered yes very Concerns that climate change will harm them personally ranged from 57% in Greece to 15% in Sweden. This spring, her median 80% of 17 citizens said they were willing to make at least some changes in their lives to reduce the impact of climate change. In contrast, only a median of just 19% said they would make some or no change. The proportion willing to make many changes ranged from 62% in Greece to 8% in Japan. In North America, nearly three-quarters of Canadians (82%) and Americans (74%) say they are willing to make at least some change to mitigate the effects of global climate change. .

• When asked to think about how their societies are coping with climate change, respondents gave mostly positive answers. About half or more in most countries surveyed say their societies are doing at least some good work, and in 17 developed countries the median he said 56% said so. By comparison, a median 44% said their society was doing a very or somewhat bad job. A majority of the European public surveyed said they believe their countries are doing at least some good in dealing with climate change. About 8 in 10 people in Singapore and New Zealand say their citizens are doing good jobs, the highest of all the locations surveyed. Other Asia-Pacific adults surveyed were more cautious. Less than half said their society was doing well.

• As of this spring, Americans were divided on how the United States was dealing with climate change. 47% of her adults said the country is doing a very or somewhat bad job. Conservative Americans were 41% more likely than liberal Americans to think the US is doing a better job of dealing with climate change. Of the 17 locations the Center surveyed in the spring, a median of just 33% of adults said the U.S. was doing a reasonably good job on climate change, and a median of just 3% said the U.S. was doing a good job on climate change. He said he believes the volatility is being properly addressed. very well done. In Europe, most adults, including 75% of her Germans and Swedes, say the US is not doing well in tackling climate change.And, with the exception of Britain and Greece, at least a quarter of all European countries surveyed said the United States very bad job.
• Of the 17 citizens who took part in the poll, the median of only 46% said they were confident that actions taken by the international community would significantly reduce the impacts of climate change. A median 52% were not convinced that these actions would reduce the impacts of climate change. 54% of Americans are unsure of the international community’s response to the climate crisis. Those with a favorable view of the United Nations were more likely to express confidence than those with a negative view that actions taken by the international community would significantly reduce the impacts of climate change. was the largest in the United States, with 61% of adults with a positive view of the UN saying that international action would significantly reduce the impacts of climate change, compared with those with an unfavorable view of the UN. Only 22% in adults.

• More than half of most adults in the general public say the UN’s response to climate change is either moderately or very good. A median of 49% of those surveyed agreed that UN action to address global climate change would: somewhat good, with a median of 5% very good. About half of Americans (51%) said the UN is doing a good job, while 43% of them said the UN is doing a bad job. In Europe, a majority in Spain, Sweden, the UK, Greece and Italy expressed approval of how the UN is addressing climate change.