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World Aware of Global Warming Threat
(Angus Reid Global Scan) - Many adults in 30 countries express concern about climate change, according to a poll by the Program on International Policy Attitudes. 65 per cent of respondents think global warming is a very serious problem, while 25 per cent call it somewhat serious.
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 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. At least 141 countries have ratified the revised agreement, which came into effect in February 2005.
In July 2005 at the G-8 summit in Perthshire, Scotland, the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States promised to implement a "new dialogue" on climate change, deeming the issue a "serious long-term challenge" for the planet.
Only in three of the 30 countries surveyed—the United States, South Africa and Kenya—did fewer than 80 per cent of respondents consider global warming as a very or somewhat serious problem.
Polling Data
How serious a problem do you consider climate change or global warming, due to the Greenhouse Effect, to be?
2006 | 2003 | |
Very serious | 65% | 49% |
Somewhat serious | 25% | 33% |
Not very serious | 3% | 11% |
Not at all serious | 2% | 3% |
Source: Program on International Policy Attitudes
Methodology: Interviews with 33,237 people in 30 countries, conducted from October 2005 to January 2006. Margin of error is 3 per cent.
