Climate security

Global population almost as scared of climate change as war – survey

People across the world are nearly as scared of climate change as they are of a war caused by “politically motivated violence and conflict,” according to a new global catastrophic risk survey.

The Global Catastrophic Risks 2017 poll, commissioned by the Global Challenges Foundation, polled 8,101 adults between the ages of 18 and 64 in Australia, Brazil, China, Germany, India, South Africa, the UK, and the US.

It found that 86 percent of people surveyed consider war caused by “politically motivated violence and conflict” to be a global catastrophic risk.

Almost as many people (84%) put climate change resulting in environmental damage such as rising sea levels or melting ice caps in the same category.

The “global catastrophic risks” included in the survey were determined by working with academic experts, according to an annual report released alongside the poll.