(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The majority of people in Russia think global warming is a reality, according to a poll by the Public Opinion Foundation. 67 per cent of respondents believe the phenomenon is happening.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The majority of people in Russia think global warming is a reality, according to a poll by the Public Opinion Foundation. 67 per cent of respondents believe the phenomenon is happening.
The term global warming refers to an increase of the Earth’s average temperature. Some theories say that climate change might be the result of human-generated carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. In 2007, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report which states that global warming has been "very likely"—or 90 per cent certain—caused by humans burning fossil fuels.
In 1998, several countries agreed to the Kyoto Protocol, a proposed amendment to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The agreement commits nations to reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Russia ratified the protocol in 2002, during the first term of Russian president Vladimir Putin.
On Jun. 19, Russian first deputy emergencies minister Ruslan Tsalikov told members of the legislature that global warming could cause devastation in northern Russia by 2030 due to melting permafrost, adding, "If the annual temperature rises by one or two degrees, the permafrost could decrease 50 per cent. (…) The risk of flooding would also double."
Polling Data
Do you believe global warming is happening?
|
Yes |
67% |
|
No |
15% |
|
Hard to answer |
18% |
Source: Public Opinion Foundation
Methodology: Face-to-face interviews with 1,500 Russian adults, conducted on Jun. 14 and Jun. 15, 2008. Margin of error is 2.5 per cent.
