How aware of climate change are you? According to recent surveys around 70% of Britons believe that global warming is caused by human activity, compared to less than half of Americans, but 80% of Brazilians. Brazilians also seem to be on par with Europeans in their belief that global warming is happening and is important, with only 10% disagreeing in both cases. It has commonly been assumed that there is a lack of understanding of climate change in the developing world, but these results suggest otherwise.
“Brazilians remain upbeat about the future. Almost half of the interviewees said it was possible to reconcile environmental concerns and development, and more than a third agreed that all countries should contribute equally to emissions reductions — regardless of whether they are rich or poor.” (from http://www.scidev.net/en/news/brazil-beats-us-in-climate-change-awareness.html)
More than 2,000 Brazilians responded to the survey published December 2010, conducted by the National Confederation of Industries.
Our understanding of climate change and our belief in its effects on the world were further highlighted in the BBC documentary: Meet the Climate Sceptics, which aired Monday 31st January on BBC4. The film featured Lord Christopher Monckton touring the world, and broadcasting the key arguments against man-made global warming: Do we have evidence that we are heating up the atmosphere or are we dealing with science we don’t fully understand?
In the end Mr Monckton’s claims were found to have significant gaps in evidence and were not scientifically accurate.
You can watch Meet the Climate Sceptics on BBC iPlayer here.
So after an increasingly turbulent year in global weather patterns what do you think about climate change?
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