Citizens of the World's Two Biggest Carbon Polluting Nations Say "Meh" to Climate Change
A report from the Pew Research Center says concern about climate change among Chinese citizens has plummeted in the past five years. Cool, cool—China is “the world’s biggest carbon polluter.” No problems here.
Just 18 percent of Chinese citizens believe climate change is “a very serious concern,” the lowest rate among the 40 nations included in the research. The world’s second biggest carbon polluter? That’s us, good old America. And—surprise surprise!—U.S. citizens are also among the least concerned about climate change: just 45 percent of Americans view it as a serious concern, compared to a 54 percent global median.
Concern among Chinese citizens has dropped precipitously, according to a report on the research from The Guardian, shrinking by 23 percentage points since 2010. Hey, incidentally, while China’s concern over climate change has been dropping like a stone, the rate of increase of their carbon emissions has far outpaced global forecasts. Oh stop looking so worried.
American attitudes about climate change are, as you would expect, sharply partisan. Where 68 percent of self-described Democrats say climate change is a very serious concern—well above the global median—just 20 percent of Republicans agree.
That’s a real race to the bottom, between China and Republicans.
Remarkably, a healthy majority of both the Chinese and Americans—even 50 percent of Republicans!—support global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Just don’t rush on their account.
