April 07, 2007

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many people in Russia believe climate change is a reality, according to a poll by the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center. 45 per cent of respondents say global warming is already happening, and 17 per cent think the phenomenon will begin soon.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many people in Russia believe climate change is a reality, according to a poll by the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center. 45 per cent of respondents say global warming is already happening, and 17 per cent think the phenomenon will begin soon.

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.

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.

Before he decided to ratify the Kyoto Protocol in 2002, Russian president Vladimir Putin said: "You often hear, either as a joke or seriously, that Russia is a northern country and it would not be scary for it to be two or three degrees warmer. (...) Maybe it would be good and we could spend less on fur coats and other warm things." 59 per cent of respondents think global warming is the result of human activity, while 30 per cent deem it a natural phenomenon.

Polling Data

Which of these opinions on global warming do you agree with most?

Global warming is already happening	45%
Global warming will happen soon	17%
Global warming will begin later	21%
Global warming not will never happen	6%
Hard to answer	11%

Many people consider that the planet's climate has changed in recent years. What do you think about this?

This is the result of human activity	59%
This is a natural phenomenon	30%
No special climate variations have occurred	4%
Hard to answer	7%

Source: All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center
Methodology: Interviews with 1,600 Russian adults, conducted on Mar. 10 and Mar. 11, 2007. Margin of error is 3.4 per cent.