2021 marks a crucial juncture for charting the future of climate action. Two events in particular punctuate the end of the year: the meeting of the G20 leaders at the Rome Summit in October, followed by the 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow in November.
Eyes are on discussions at the G20 summit. The G20 countries play a hugely important role in addressing the climate crisis: they are the world’s largest economies, collectively the biggest population and – perhaps unsurprisingly – the greatest polluters. Their COVID-19 stimulus packages will set the course of the global economy for the years to come. As a result, the G20 countries have a substantial responsibility for taking the necessary measures to tackle climate change.
Gauging public opinion
Following the success of the Peoples’ Climate Vote in January, and to contribute to the discussions of G20, we at UNDP partnered once again with the University of Oxford to produce a second report – this time focused on public opinion on climate change in the G20 countries.
The resulting G20 Peoples’ Climate Vote report delivers never-before-seen data along with new analysis of the critical question: how far ahead of the curve are under-18-year-olds (under-18s) on the climate emergency compared to adults?
Why the focus on young people? Understanding what under-18s think about a variety of climate policies is important. In many countries under-18s are not yet of voting age, but in the next few years, they will enter the workforce, start to vote, and move into positions of greater influence.
When we have data on what under-18s think about climate change, we have a powerful forecast for how public opinion is changing. And governments should take note.
What did we find?
An overwhelmingly number of under-18s believe there is currently a climate emergency.
An average of 70 percent of under-18s across the G20 countries believe there is a climate emergency, ranging from 63 percent in Argentina and Saudi Arabia to 86 percent in Italy and the United Kingdom. Adults are not far behind, with 65 percent overall believing the same.
In most countries under-18s were more likely to believe in the climate emergency than adults.