Ever wonder if others worry as much about the climate as you do?

A huge new survey by the United Nations Development Programme, covering 77 countries, found that four out of five people around the world want to see stronger action from their government on climate change. 

An even higher number – 86% – want to see countries do more to set aside their differences and work together to solve the problem. It’s clear that, all over the world, politicians are lagging behind the public on this. Why? Maybe because we don’t talk about it loud enough.

How we underestimate those around us

In a giant global study of beliefs about climate change, researchers from Germany and Denmark surveyed 130,000 people in 125 countries (countries which together account for the vast majority of the pollution that’s messing up the climate.)

Their findings confirmed that a huge number of us want to see stronger action on climate change. They also revealed that 69% of us are even ready to chip in 1% of our income to fix it (incredibly, 1% is estimated to be enough to make a transformational difference).

This is great news. But there’s a problem: most of us don’t believe others would do the same. When asked how many people we think would chip in, we answer on average just 43%.

The result? We end up staying quiet about it, because we lack the courage to go against the grain – or we don’t think it will work. The result is that others around us don’t feel confident to speak up, and politicians don’t see that support exists for bolder policies.

The findings echo another study from 2022 which found that 80-90% of Americans underestimate how much their fellow citizens care about the climate.

It’s a pretty weird situation. The scientists call it a “false social reality” created by “pluralistic ignorance”. In other words, we’re going around second-guessing what everyone else is thinking about the climate… and getting it wrong. All while the planet keeps overheating.

But let’s not get frustrated – we should really be pleased that more people care than we thought. All we need to do is break the cycle of silence. The more people see that others want change, the more will feel emboldened to voice their own concerns, and take action.

So next time you find yourself wanting to bring up the climate in conversation, remember that there’s a pretty good chance the people you’re talking with, feel the same way you do.