In partnership with the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and Data for Good at Meta, Rare recently released the second annual global study, International Public Opinion on Climate Change: 2023.
The report is a global survey of Facebook users across 187 countries and territories describing their climate change beliefs, attitudes, policy preferences, and behaviors. The report finds that climate change is happening but finds vast differences in awareness among people in the developing and developed worlds.
The initial report highlights the topline findings of the survey. The authors will soon provide further analysis related to views on the links between climate change and extreme weather in the Global South, as well as public adoption of and barriers to behaviors that can reduce personal and household CO2 emissions in the Global North.
“Knowing your audience is key for addressing any behavioral challenge. These data are unique in their ability to help us understand in what ways people across the globe are similar and in what ways they are different in their knowledge and attitudes around climate change,” said Dr. Erik Thulin, lead behavioral scientist with Rare’s Center for Behavior & the Environment. “As we explore the data, we will learn more about people’s motivations and barriers in adopting high-impact climate behaviors, supporting evidence-based programs and policies to drive the large-scale cultural changes needed for comprehensive climate mitigation.”
Download the initial survey report
Report II: International Public Opinion on Climate Change: Extreme Weather and Vulnerability, 2023
This report presents results from a subset of 99,453 responses comes from 73 countries, territories, and geographic groups classified as “low-emissions”, based on below-average per-capita CO2 emissions and low per-capita income. Respondents were asked about their experiences with and preparedness for different kinds of extreme weather and climate-related hazards. They were also asked how much they thought climate change had contributed to the most recent event they had experienced.
The report finds that a majority of Facebook users in low-emitting, low-income countries and territories have experienced an extreme weather event in the past year. According to respondents, the hazard most frequently experienced was a long period of unusually hot weather. Most respondents who experienced an extreme weather hazard said that climate change contributed either “a great deal” or “a moderate amount” to it.
The IPCC and others have called for greater emphasis on the role of the individual as part of larger systems changes. In addition to general climate awareness and understanding, this year’s study adds greater context to what we as individuals can do in the face of this global crisis. This new information will be available in a future update expected in 2024.
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