Economy vs. Environment - a global tension

Our last newsletter, in December 2008, reported the rapid rise of the economy as the biggest issue facing Britain according to the public. In May 2009, the economy continues to eclipse all other issues, including the environment. Earlier in the year, Mr Brown claimed 400,000 jobs could be created over the next 8 years through the move to a low carbon economy. While this message may have public appeal, the Issues Index ¹ shows that the government's attempts to present a green solution to the nation’s economic woes have not increased the importance of the environment as an issue per se.

It is clear from our Global @dvisor study², a twice yearly online survey conducted in 22 countries worldwide among 22,000 consumer citizens, that this tension between the economy and the environment is by no means unique but is being played out across many of the world's countries. Indeed, across the online public involved in this study, overall economic confidence has almost halved, and unemployment is the top issue of concern. And although concern for climate change is high when considered in isolation (just 3% strongly disagree that 'Climate change will affect my generation'), when people are presented with a wider list of 16 socio-economic and political issues, climate change appears a low 13th on the list, losing out to unemployment and jobs, poverty and social inequality, as well as many others. Global @dvisor does, however, suggest that there are some differences in levels of concern around the environment, as well as disparities in the willingness of different populations to act to protect it.

The chart below shows the clear link between GDP and concern for the environment, with the online public in emerging economies such as Latin America, India and China, expressing a high level of environmental concern. Their concern may be linked to levels of environmental degradation in these areas, and their recent experience of the by-products of rapid growth³.

Perhaps surprisingly, given the proliferation of environmental information and green marketing across the UK and other parts of Europe, people living in these parts of the world tend to be relatively less worried about the environment, and to express a weaker sense of personal responsibility. Consumer citizens in emerging economies are the most likely to profess a sense of responsibility to do something about environmental problems, and are far more likely than those across the G8 to agree with the statement, 'Minimising my impact on the environment is an important part of my life."

Across the world, most people believe there is too little government regulation to protect the environment (70%), and the vast majority say that companies should pay more attention to the environment (61% strongly agree). The widespread nature of these views which put the responsibility to act on someone else, coupled with the economic slowdown and evident concern for unemployment, means it will continue to be very difficult to encourage people themselves to make big changes to their lifestyles.

In any case, it is clear that people across the world expect more leadership and action from Government, otherwise there is a danger people will not translate their concern into changed behaviour. The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen at the end of this year provides another opportunity for the world's leaders and scientists to convince the public of their commitment.

Notes

¹ Ipsos MORI's Issues Index is a monthly face-to-face survey of approximately 1,000 British adults (age 18+). Past data and trends can be accessed here.

² Global @dvisor is a twice-yearly online survey conducted in 22 countries worldwide among 22,000 consumer citizens. The latest results and trends are discussed in the report. World Public Opinion: The Gathering Storm.

³ It is also important to remember that as Global @dvisor uses an online methodology, these respondents may not be representative of the broader populations within these countries, but rather, they provide an indication of the direction in which the popular mood may be moving as thought and opinion leaders.