A separate UK poll also finds that two-thirds of the British public think that investments in fossil fuels are becoming more risky

Nearly two-thirds of people believe that negotiators at key UN climate talks in December should do “whatever it takes” to limit global warming to a 2C rise, according to what is believed to be the most comprehensive survey of global public attitudes to climate change ever conducted.

The Worldwide Views on Climate and Energy consultation involved 10,000 citizens from 79 developed and developing countries.

It was initiated by a coalition including the United Nations’ Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) with support from, among others, the French, German and Norwegian governments and the European Space Agency.

Of those participating, 78% said they are “very concerned” about the impacts of climate change, although this drops to 69% for citizens from developed countries. Globally, 89% said that climate change should be a national priority in their country, while 49% said they felt that it already was. 80% said that their country should take measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions even if others do not.

Asked how urgently the world should react to climate change, 63% of participants said the world should decide in Paris to do “whatever it takes” to limit temperatures to 2C.

The results come six months before the UN climate change summit in Paris at which negotiators from more than 190 countries will attempt to hammer out a deal deal on tackling climate change, primarily through the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Current commitments to decrease emissions are due to expire in 2020.

More than two-thirds (68%) of participants in the survey said an agreement in Paris should include a long-term goal for zero emissions by the end of the century that is legally binding for all countries.

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Asked to comment on fossil fuel exploration, almost half (45%) said they thought the world should stop exploration for all fossil fuel reserves, while 23% said that exploration should continue, 62% said that exploration for new coal reserves should be stopped.



Bjorn Bedsted, global co-ordinator of the consultation said: “These results will be very valuable to politicians and negotiators – it’s the only source of information they have about what citizens really think about the key negotiations. This was not a climate change campaign to tell people what to think but was about asking people what they think.”

He also commented that the results demonstrated that people see tackling climate change as “something positive – not as a trade off or a sacrifice they have to make.”

Two-thirds (66%) thought that measures to combat climate change are “mostly an opportunity to improve our quality of life”, while 27% see it as mostly a “threat” to quality of life.

And 64% said the efforts of developing countries should “partly” depend on funding from developed countries, while 18% said it should depend “completely” on such funding.



At previous annual UN climate change summits, global negotiators agreed that in order to avoid catastrophic and irreversible climate change the temperature of the planet must not rise more than 2C above pre-industrial levels. According to the World Bank, without immediate concerted action, we are currently on track to reach this within two or three decades and to reach a 4C rise by the end of the century.

Commenting on the results, a spokesperson from the UK Department for Energy and Climate Change said: “The UK government shares the global view that climate change is not just a threat to the environment, but also threatens national and global security and our attempts to eradicate poverty and spread economic prosperity. That is why the UK is pushing hard for an ambitious global deal in Paris and is working hard to move towards a low-carbon economy.”

The consultation took place on Saturday with 100 citizens from each participating area gathering for face-to-face discussion around the same policy questions. Participants were selected to reflect the demographic diversity of their country, according to multiple factors including age, gender, education, occupation and geography. Participants were also selected so that members of environmental organisations were not over-represented.

Participants were sent information packs in advance, which were reviewed by an advisory board including scientists from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and citizen focus groups. Questions were chosen in consultation with global policy makers.

The results of the survey come as a UK poll suggests that two-thirds of the British public think that investments in fossil fuels are becoming more risky.



Figures from a OnePoll survey of 2,000 people across the UK show that almost half (46%) said they would be unhappy if they found out their money was being used to fund fossil fuel developments such as fracking. Only 1 in 10 of those surveyed had seen coverage of fossil fuel divestment, a global movement to pressure investors to move their money out of fossil fuel companies as part of the move to an economy based on clean energy.

Bruce Davis, co-founder of Abundance, the ethical investment company that commissioned the research, said that it suggests more people see fossil fuel divestment as an issue of financial security than of ethics.

“What we’re seeing here is a tipping point in concern over fossil fuel risk. It reflects the fact that the actions of some high profile investors and the idea of carbon risk has achieved very broad reach beyond the divestment campaign. The industry can no longer claim that this is just an issue for the usual suspects, the activists who have protested against their ethical and environmental shortcomings for years, it is now top of mind for ordinary investors worried about their future financial security.”

In December, the Bank of England launched an investigation into the risks posed to the global economy by a “carbon bubble”. The concept rests on a theory that investments in fossil fuel reserves will become worthless – or “stranded assets” – if governments stick to international targets to limit global warming to a 2C rise by limiting carbon emissions.

The Guardian’s Keep it in the Ground Campaign is highlighting the fossil fuel divestment argument. It is calling on the world’s two largest health charities – the Wellcome Trust and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation – to move their investments out of fossil fuel companies.