Gallup poll: Fewer Americans, Europeans view global warming as a threat

By Anita Pugliese and Julie Ray
20 April 2011 WASHINGTON, D.C. — Gallup surveys in 111 countries in 2010 find Americans and Europeans feeling substantially less threatened by climate change than they did a few years ago, while more Latin Americans and sub-Saharan Africans see themselves at risk. The 42% of adults worldwide who see global warming as a threat to themselves and their families in 2010 hasn’t budged in the last few years, but increases and declines evident in some regions reflect the divisions on climate change between the developed and developing world. Majorities in developed countries that are key participants in the global climate debate continue to view global warming as a serious threat, but their concern is more subdued than it was in 2007-2008. In the U.S., a slim majority (53%) currently see it as a serious personal threat, down from 63% in previous years. Concern about global warming has also declined across western, southern, and eastern Europe, and in several cases, even more precipitously than in the U.S. In France, for example, the percentage saying global warming is a serious threat fell from 75% in 2007-2008 to 59% in 2010. In the United Kingdom, ground zero for the [fake] climate data-fixing scandal known as “Climategate” in 2009, the percentage dropped from 69% to 57% in the same period. World residents’ declining concern about climate change may reflect increasing skepticism about global warming after “Climategate” and the lack of progress toward global climate policy. The drops also may reflect the poor economic times, during which Gallup research generally finds environmental issues become less important. …

Fewer Americans, Europeans View Global Warming as a Threat