A gumboot sits on a fencepost on the site of the old town of Adaminaby as it re-emerges out of Lake Eucumbene, 150 km (93 miles) south of the Australian capital Canberra.
REUTERS/David Gray
By Daniel Fineren
LONDON, June 5 (Reuters) - Global concern about climate change has risen dramatically over the last six months and consumers increasingly expect their governments to act, according to a survey published on Tuesday.
The survey by the Nielsen Company and Oxford University's Environmental Change Institute, found 42 percent of global online consumers believe governments should restrict companies' emissions of carbon dioxide and other pollutants.
A G8 summit of rich nations this week could pave the way for a world deal on how to tackle global warming.
"They should be aware of how alarmed people are about the possibility of a future with an unstable climate, and their consensus that governments must lead the way," said Oxford University's Timmons Roberts.
Those least concerned often come from countries which have the fastest growing emissions of carbon dioxide, the gas widely blamed for global warming.
Although up 7 percent in six months, still only 13 percent of United States citizens -- who live in the country responsible for a quarter of global emissions of carbon dioxide -- see climate change as one of their biggest worries.
The Swiss -- who already produce most of their power from low-carbon sources -- are the most worried about global warming, with 36 percent saying it was one of their biggest fears in April this year, up 17 percent from October 2007.
Crucially, the environmental message is getting through in India and China -- two of the world's largest and fastest-growing polluters -- while public anxiety in other large developing economies like Mexico and Brazil is intensifying.
An 11-percent jump in concern about the environment over the last six months left 19 percent of Indians fretting about global warming, while only 9 percent of Chinese respondents said the issue was very important, up 7 percent.
But Russians and eastern Europeans remain unconcerned, with only 3 percent of Russian respondents losing sleep over it as their energy consumption and carbon emissions rise.
Climate change is now a top issue in Canada -- with jitters jumping 18 percent to 31 percent -- after the government said the country's Kyoto Protocol goals were unachieveable.
Although public concern has jumped, willingness to make personal sacrifices to do something about the problem has not.
Only 3 percent of respondents said people should reduce the amount they fly, despite aviation being one of the fastest growing sources of carbon emissions.
