The current state of the planet can leave you feeling pretty exhausted! I’m sure we’ve all been there, looking through the climate news and feeling a sense of doom wash over us. Many times I’ve cycled to work among a line of cars, or remembered to pack a shopping bag, only to find the footpath littered with single-use plastic.
In these moments, it can be easy to feel like you’re alone. The word ‘eco-anxiety’ perhaps sounds familiar – ‘a feeling of worry about threats to the environment, such as pollution and climate change’.1 These feelings can make it hard to see that a shared goal of making a more sustainable future even exists.
But what if we’re all underestimating each other? What if it’s just a case of ‘pluralistic ignorance’, a false belief that others don’t share our concerns, reducing our motivation to take action and make changes in our own lives?2
Until recently, there have been very few studies exploring the percentage of people willing to take on a climate-conscious lifestyle and support the cause. However, in 2024, a group of scientists teamed up to find out how many people actually support pro-climate initiatives.
So, let’s see what people around the world had to say about climate action!
What the World Really Thinks
To get a real sense of global attitudes, the team conducted interviews across 125 countries with different economies, average temperatures, and cultures. This meant the final dataset represented 92% of the world’s population! This was really important because, as you can imagine, where you live may have an influence on how you answer.
Interviews were conducted through telephone or in-person, with random phone numbers or addresses picked to make the study fair. Almost 130,000 people were interviewed in the end!
In the interviews the researchers focused on four key questions, each designed to reveal a different layer of how people feel about climate action:
- Would you be willing to spend 1% of your household income every month to help tackle global warming?
This question was central to the study as it’s a practical way of measuring not just concern, but real commitment to the issue. Saying yes means being willing to take on a personal cost for the collective good.And the response? Almost 70% of participants said yes! Showing that a huge portion of people are willing to financially support climate solutions!
- Out of 100 people in your country, how many do you think would say yes to spending that 1%?
Here’s where pluralistic ignorance comes into play. This question uncovers whether people believe others around them are also willing to act. If you think no one else is trying, you’re less likely to act yourself, even if you care! That’s how support stays hidden.And that’s why the answer to this question is particularly important!. While nearly 70% of people said they were personally willing to contribute, they estimated that only 43% of others would do the same. That’s a huge perception gap, and it’s this gap that can stop progress in its tracks. If you think no one else is trying, it’s hard to feel hopeful.
- Should people try to fight climate change at all?
This question gives a broader idea of public support and belief in individual action. Are people still on board with the idea of taking action? Do people still believe we should try to fight global warming?A resounding 86% of people said yes to this. Despite political divides and cultural differences, most people agree that individuals should be part of the solution.
- Should your government do more to tackle climate change?
Finally, this one gives a broader idea of whether citizens want broader systemic change. It tells us if people are calling for stronger climate policies and leadership from those in power.Once again, this received an overwhelmingly positive answer, with nearly 90% of respondents saying yes. And this result wasn’t just an average; despite cultural and economic differences, in more than half of the countries included in the survey, over 90% of people were calling for stronger climate policies. Which is just incredible!
Factors that influence your decision…
Here’s where things get even more interesting! When the researchers started to dig deeper into their results, they found patterns emerging that went against expectations.
If you had to guess which countries in the world were more willing to contribute and what political action, what would you say? You might assume that wealthier countries with their bigger budgets and stronger economies, right? Well, think again!
In places like the U.S. and the U.K, only around 40-50% of people said they’d be willing to spend that 1% of their income to help combat climate change. Meanwhile, in countries like Myanmar, Cambodia, and Uzbekistan that figure soared!
So why the unexpected flip? Well, it turns out money often buys you climate comfort. Countries with a high GDP (a metric often used to show how well a country’s economy is doing)3 have more money to produce sturdier infrastructures, which can act as a buffer from feeling the effects of climate change. This can make the immediate threat feel distant, and the urgency less pressing. Similarly, wealthy countries often promote high-polluting habits and lifestyles, which often don’t go hand-in-hand with a sustainable lifestyle. Therefore, the changes required to support the cause can feel harder.
In contrast, countries with a lower GDP and those with a higher average temperature tend to experience the greatest impacts of climate change. Think huge wildfires in Greece, or extreme heat in India and Saudi Arabia.4 Such extreme weather events are predicted to become even more frequent as the planet warms, and you can imagine having these experiences so close to home would bring the issue of global warming to the foreground.5
Of course, there’s a big difference between ticking ‘yes’ on a questionnaire and changing how you live day to day. But what this paper makes clear is that willingness isn’t the problem; it’s knowing how to act. That’s the gap we need to close.
When people see that others care, they feel less alone. When they know what to do, they’re more likely to do it. If we can build a world where climate action feels visible, supported, and achievable, then all that hidden support can turn into real momentum.
The desire for change is already there…now we just have to help each other turn it into action.
How to find another way
This study really shows how we are all underestimating each other, and that pluralistic ignorance is a real issue in the fight against global warming! But, what previous studies into pluralistic ignorance show is that by talking with one another about the climate crisis in our everyday lives, we can help to encourage one another!6 By raising awareness for the huge global support for pro-climate strategies and conservation, we can start to correct the false belief that only a minority cares for the planet. Getting involved with a climate charity, attending climate talks and workshops, or even just having small conversation with a neighbour can make a difference.
So, perhaps next time you’re chatting with your friends, try asking them what they would like to do for the planet. Maybe other people are more likely to want to get involved with helping the environment than you think!
Article written by Skye Brook
Primary Paper:
Andre, P. et al. (2024) ‘Globally representative evidence on the actual and perceived support for climate action’, Nature Climate Change, 14(3), pp. 253-259. doi:10.1038/ s41558-024-01925-3. Available at: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-024-01925-3
Other references:
- Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries. (n.d.) Eco-Anxiety. Available at: https:// oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/eco-anxiety (Accessed: 09 June 2025)
- Miller, T. (2023) ‘A century of pluralistic ignorance: What we have learned about its origins, forms, and consequences’, Frontiers in Social Psychology, 1. doi:10.3389/ frsps.2023.1260896. Available at: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/social-psychology/articles/10.3389/frsps.2023.1260896/full
- Our World in Data (2023). Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Available at: https:// org/grapher/gdp-worldbank-constant-usd (Accessed: 09 June 2025)
- BBC News (2024). Excessive heat hits countries around the Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjeexy2x3xro (Accessed: 09 June 2025)
- NASA (2024) Extreme Weather and Climate Available at: https:// science.nasa.gov/climate-change/extreme-weather/ (Accessed: 09 June 2025)
- Geiger, and Swim, Janet K. (2016) ‘Climate of silence: Pluralistic ignorance as a barrier to climate change discussion’, Journal of Environmental Psychology, 47, pp. 79-90 doi:10.1016/j.jenvp.2016.05.002. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/302555463_Climate_of_silence_Pluralistic_ignorance_as_a_barrier_to_climate_change_discussion
All images taken from Canva
