UNDP Survey Finds Stronger Public Demand for Climate Action

A landmark global public opinion survey has revealed how countries perceive the escalating threat of climate change. The UNDP’s Peoples’ Climate Vote 2024 reports that 80% of respondents want their governments to take stronger action on climate change. The survey also finds that 53% of people are more worried about climate change than they were last year, while 15% say they are less worried.

The 2024 edition surveyed more than 73,000 people across 77 countries, representing 87% of the world’s population, over eight months. This second edition significantly expands on the 2021 version, which covered 50 countries and 17 languages.

Key findings from the survey

Rising concern and uneven geographic impacts

Respondents in Least Developed Countries (LDCs) expressed the highest levels of concern, with 59% reporting increased worry compared to last year. In G20 countries, 50% of respondents shared this sentiment. The countries showing the greatest rise in concern were Fiji (80%), Afghanistan (78%), and both Mexico and Türkiye (77%). By contrast, Saudi Arabia recorded the largest share of respondents who were becoming less worried about climate change (53%).
Women were also more concerned than men, with 55% of women expressing increased worry compared to 51% of men.

People are thinking more frequently about climate change

Climate change is becoming a more regular part of people’s thoughts. A total of 56% of respondents said they think about climate change every day or every week, while only 11% said they never think about it. Uganda (62%), Sudan (61%), and El Salvador (56%) recorded the highest levels of daily concern. Women (57%) also reported thinking about climate change slightly more often than men (55%).

Climate change is influencing major life choices

Extreme weather events and climate change impacts are increasingly shaping people’s major life decisions, including where they live, work, and what they buy. Among all respondents,

• 33% said climate change significantly affects their major decisions,
• 37% said it has a limited influence, and
• 30% said it has no impact.

In LDCs, the influence is far stronger: 74% of respondents said climate change greatly affects their major decisions. The figure is particularly high in Afghanistan (94%) and Niger (88%).

Public demand for stronger government action

Support for stronger commitments

Across all surveyed countries, 80% of respondents want their governments to strengthen their commitments to addressing climate change. Support is even higher in LDCs, reaching 89%, compared with 76% in G20 countries.

Public views on the transition from fossil fuels

The survey highlights the top 10 countries with the strongest support for rapidly transitioning away from fossil fuels: Türkiye (89%), Nigeria (89%), Italy (89%), Sri Lanka (87%), Haiti (86%), Pakistan (86%), Bhutan (85%), Egypt (85%), Mexico (83%), and Sudan (83%).

Countries where respondents prefer a slower transition include: Lao PDR (56%), Russia (54%), Morocco (49%), Vanuatu (46%), the Philippines (46%), Iraq (40%), Benin (40%), Afghanistan (40%), Madagascar (34%), and Uganda (33%).

To help the public explore the findings, UNDP provides an interactive platform where users can look up detailed results for each country.

Read the full report: Peoples’ Climate Vote 2024.