Climate crisis 'most important issue' for public, poll reveals

A survey commissioned by Hope not Hate revealed that the majority of the public recognise the climate crisis as an “emergency” and say politicians are failing to tackle the problem.

The poll interviewed over 1,000 people in the UK, Germany, Canada, Italy, Brazil, France, Poland and the US. Around 74% of Britons said they were seeing the effects of climate change and thought it could pose a direct threat to ordinary people.

The survey was released ahead of what could be the world’s biggest climate demonstrations on Friday.

According to the public, the climate breakdown is viewed as the most important issue facing the world, ahead of migration, terrorism and the global economy, in seven out of the eight countries surveyed.

Nick Lowles, from UK-based anti-racism group Hope not Hate said the findings showed that the public were “way ahead” of politicians and “they understand the scale of the problem and want governments to take the strong and decisive action that this emergency requires.”

“As an organisation dedicated to bringing communities together and challenging the politics of division, we believe that our leaders must take swift action on climate change so that environmental pressures do not become a source of hostility, anger and competition in our societies.”