Climate change presents a significant global challenge. It (allegedly) causes severe weather patterns, crop damage, and rising sea levels. However, not everybody sees it as a threat.
For this graphic, Visual Capitalist’s Alan Kennedy and Sabrina Fortin partnered with Lloyd’s Register Foundation to explore one of their most recent reports, World Risk Poll 2021: A Changed World? And dig into the data to see why many people worldwide are unsure of climate change as a threat.
Are We United or Divided?
As part of the World Risk Poll 2021, Lloyd’s Register Foundation partnered with Gallup and surveyed 125,911 people in 121 countries.
They asked whether climate change will threaten, somewhat threaten, or not threaten their nation in the next 20 years. These nations were ranked by the total number of respondents who view climate change as a threat, somewhat or otherwise.
90% of Northern and Western European respondents view climate change as a threat. So, it’s no surprise that many nations with the highest percentage of those who see climate change as a threat are European.
| Rank | Country | View as Threat | Don’t View as a Threat |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇮🇹 Italy | 95.4% | 4.6% |
| 2 | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | 95.3% | 4.7% |
| 3 | 🇪🇸 Spain | 93.7% | 6.3% |
| 4 | 🇨🇱 Chile | 93.5% | 6.5% |
| 5 | 🇬🇷 Greece | 92.6% | 7.4% |
| 6 | 🇯🇵 Japan | 92.5% | 7.5% |
| 7 | 🇫🇷 France | 92.3% | 7.7% |
| 8 | 🇵🇹 Portugal | 92.3% | 7.7% |
| 9 | 🇰🇷 South Korea | 91.6% | 8.4% |
| 10 | 🇩🇪 Germany | 91.3% | 8.7% |
Meanwhile, the highest percentage of people viewing climate change as a non-threat live in developing or non-Western economies. Here are the bottom 10 countries covered by the report.
| Rank | Country | View as Threat | Don’t View as a Threat |
|---|---|---|---|
| 112 | 🇲🇲 Myanmar | 54.0% | 46.0% |
| 113 | 🇨🇳 China | 53.7% | 46.3% |
| 114 | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | 53.4% | 46.6% |
| 115 | 🇲🇿 Mozambique | 48.9% | 51.1% |
| 116 | 🇲🇦 Morocco | 48.7% | 51.3% |
| 117 | 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates | 48.6% | 51.4% |
| 119 | 🇪🇬 Egypt | 47.8% | 52.2% |
| 119 | 🇯🇴 Jordan | 46.6% | 53.4% |
| 120 | 🇱🇦 Laos | 37.5% | 62.5% |
| 121 | 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia | 30.9% | 69.1% |
Teaching the World About Climate Change
Education is critical in shaping one’s sentiment toward climate change, not just nationality. The data indicates that as the level of education increases, so does the understanding of climate change as a threat.
| View As a Threat | Don’t View as a Threat | |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Education (0-8 Years) | 55% | 45% |
| Secondary Education (9-15 Years) | 75% | 25% |
| Post-Secondary Education (16+ years) | 81% | 19% |
A World of Risk
Despite 75% of the world viewing climate change as a threat to their nation in the next 20 years, nearly 2 billion people worldwide still don’t.
Lloyd’s Register Foundation created The World Risk Poll 2021 to give a better understanding of ordinary people’s risks and does not just cover climate change.
The World Risk Poll 2021 also offers insight into our sentiment toward AI, workplace safety, and financial resilience.
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