More in Middle East think climate change will impact their lives than US, UK – survey

More people in the Middle East and North Africa believe climate change will have a dramatic impact on people’s lives compared to Western countries such as the United States, according to a new poll.

A new YouGov survey of 30,000 people in 28 countries and regions uncovers attitudes towards climate change across the world. Among the findings were that people in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region generally believe that climate change will have a big impact on their lives at a higher rate than people in Western nations including the United States, Great Britain and even Germany.

The majority of respondents in the Middle East indicated that climate change would have a great deal of impact on their lives, including more than half of respondents in Egypt (58 per cent) and the UAE (56 per cent). Conversely, only about one in six respondents in Germany (16 per cent) and Great Britain (17 per cent) apparently believe it will. The rate in the United States was just 24 per cent – and, perhaps surprisingly, was its absolute lowest in the Nordic countries, with Finland (14 per cent), Norway (12 per cent), Sweden (11 per cent) and Denmark (10 per cent) all at the very bottom.

Survey respondents also often said governments, businesses and individuals could all be doing more to combat the effects of climate change. Respondents in Western countries tended to most often say businesses especially needed to do more, while in developing nations more people tended to say governments and international bodies should do more.

The survey comes as rallies were held across the world to highlight the importance of combatting the effects of climate change and the critical need to promote a healthier, more sustainable planet for a better future and humanity’s survival. The rallies – which took place on every continent, including Antarctica – are thought to be the largest climate demonstrations ever. Millions of people took part.