The Global Commons Survey 2024 examines attitudes towards planetary stewardship across 22 countries, including 18 G20 countries and 4 others (Austria, Denmark, Kenya, and Sweden). The survey sampled 22,000 individuals aged 18 to 75 to gauge opinions on environmental issues, societal transformation, and political/economic systems, with a focus on how global citizens view the urgency of action to mitigate climate change.
Key findings reveal that 59% of respondents in G20 countries are extremely or very concerned about the current state of nature, while 71% believe immediate action is necessary within the next decade to reduce carbon emissions. The survey highlights significant differences between optimism for personal futures (62%) and global outlooks (38%). Concerns about the irreversibility of environmental damage and the connection between human health and the wellbeing of nature are also prominent, with 74% of respondents agreeing that human health is closely linked to the health of the planet.
The report also segments global populations into five distinct groups based on their attitudes towards environmental stewardship: Planetary Stewards, Concerned Optimists, Steady Progressives, Climate Sceptics, and The Unengaged. This segmentation helps identify varying levels of support for systemic change and environmental policies, with Planetary Stewards advocating the most for urgent, wide-scale reforms.
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Table of Contents
- Slide 1: Global Commons Survey 2024 1
- Slide 2: Contents 2
- Slide 3: Overall Objectives and Methodology 3
- Slide 4: Study coverage 4
- Slide 5: Sample overview by country 5
- Slide 6: Country classification 6
- Slide 7 7
- Slide 8: Summary of key findings. 8
- Slide 9: Planetary stewardship - key findings (i) 9
- Slide 10: Planetary stewardship - key findings (ii) 10
- Slide 11: Planetary stewardship - key findings (iii) 11
- Slide 12: Attitudes towards planetary stewardship 12
- Slide 13: The majority of people surveyed in the G20 are worried about the state of nature, both now and for future generations. 13
- Slide 14: Across those surveyed in the G20, concern for the state of nature today and the state in which we will leave nature for future generations has been stable over time 14
- Slide 15: The majority of people surveyed in the G20 understand the urgency of major action to protect nature and the environment. 15
- Slide 16: Concern about nature is high across most demographic groups surveyed in the G20. Concern is highest among those perceiving themselves to be exposed to environmental and climate related risks and threats. 16
- Slide 17: Concern about nature tends to be higher in lower- and upper-middle income countries surveyed, where perceived exposure to climate threat is also higher. 17
- Slide 18: A high majority connect the health of nature with human health, and over half think nature is already too damaged to meet our needs. 18
- Slide 19: The majority of those surveyed in the G20 believe the costs of pollution are higher than the investment needed for a green transition, and that addressing climate change and environmental damage can bring benefits. 19
- Slide 20: Three in ten of those surveyed in the G20 think that the claims about environmental threats were exaggerated and 4 in 10 agree that new technologies can solve environmental problems without individuals having to make big changes. 20
- Slide 21: Those exposed to climate risk are most likely to link human and planetary health and see benefits in addressing environmental issues. 21
- Slide 22: Lower- and higher-middle income countries surveyed are most likely to see the benefits of action on climate and environment. 22
- Slide 23: Nearly three quarters of people surveyed in the G20 support criminalising actions likely to cause serious damage to nature and the climate. 23
- Slide 24: Support for criminalising actions likely to cause serious damage to nature and the climate is highest among those exposed to climate threats. while higher in lower- and higher-middle income countries, a majority support this in all countries exc 24
- Slide 25: Across those surveyed in the G20, responsibility for reversing environmental damage is focused on business and government. 25
- Slide 26: However, only a third of those surveyed in the G20 think that their government is doing enough to tackle climate change. 26
- Slide 27: Upper income countries, those with children in their household, satisfied with their household finances, interested in politics and exposed to climate threats are the least likely to think that their government is doing enough to tackle climate 27
- Slide 28: Values 28
- Slide 29: Those in the G20 reported that good manners, tolerance for other people and responsibility are the most important qualities they think children can be encouraged to learn at home. Respect for animals, nature and the environment rank just behind 29
- Slide 30: Among G20 countries surveyed, the top three important values to teach children have not changed since 2021. 30
- Slide 31: Of those surveyed in the G20, opinion is divided across core value statements – the clearest preference being for bigger over smaller government. 31
- Slide 32: People surveyed in the G20 tend to be optimistic about their own future, but much less optimistic about that of their country or the world. 32
- Slide 33: Over half of people surveyed in the G20 feel personally exposed to environmental and climate risks 33
- Slide 34: Around two thirds of people surveyed in the G20 say they’re interested in politics, while under half are satisfied with their household financial situation 34
- Slide 35: Higher income countries are most pessimistic about the future. Despite feeling more exposed to environmental risks, those in lower- and middle-income countries tend to be more optimistic about their own and the world’s future. 35
- Slide 36 36
- Slide 37: What did we do? 37
- Slide 38: Segment profiles and size 38
- Slide 39: We identified 5 “Planetary Stewardship” segments. 39
- Slide 40: Planetary stewardship segmentation The segmentation is based upon the following statements only. Here we show the different attitude profiles of the segments across these statements. 40
- Slide 41: Segment detail: Planetary stewards 41
- Slide 42: Planetary stewards 42
- Slide 43: Concerned Optimists 43
- Slide 44: Concerned Optimists 44
- Slide 45: Steady Progressives 45
- Slide 46: Steady Progressives 46
- Slide 47: Climate Sceptics 47
- Slide 48: Climate Sceptics 48
- Slide 49: The Unengaged 49
- Slide 50: The Unengaged 50
- Slide 51: Segment global size and size of segments within countries 51
- Slide 52: Detailed segment attitudes, values, demographics 52
- Slide 53: Planetary Stewards, Concerned Optimists and Steady Progressives tend to emphasise the need for urgency in acting to reduce carbon emissions Climate Sceptics and the unengaged were much less likely to think we needed to take urgent action 53
- Slide 54: Planetary Stewards and Steady Progressives are more likely to place value on tolerance and respect for others, respect of animals and not being selfish While Climate Sceptics, Concerned Optimists and The Unengaged are likely to place more value 54
- Slide 55: The segments least concerned about the environment are also least likely to support a larger government providing more services or believe science and technology has made the world a better place 55
- Slide 56: Despite opposing environmental outlooks, Planetary Stewards and Climate Sceptics are both more likely to be pessimistic about the future of the world or of their country Concerned Optimists are the most optimistic about the future, while the Une 56
- Slide 57: Concerned Optimists are more likely to strongly agree that their government can be trusted to make decisions which benefit the majority and in the longer term compared to any other group Despite opposing views, Planetary Stewards and Climate Sce 57
- Slide 58: Planetary Stewards and Concerned Optimists are more likely to strongly agree that there is too much economic inequality these days, and to feel the current economic system is bad for the environment, compared to Climate Sceptics and the Unengage 58
- Slide 59: Planetary Stewards, Concerned Optimists and, to a lesser extent, Steady Progressives are more likely to strongly support economic and political system changes Climate Sceptics and the Unengaged are much less likely to strongly support reform 59
- Slide 60: Planetary Stewards and Concerned Optimists are more likely to show strong support for higher taxation for polluting individuals and companies Whereas just two in ten Climate Sceptics strongly support this measure 60
- Slide 61: Planetary Stewards and Concerned Optimists are more likely to strongly support for Earth4All’s policy proposals, compared to Climate Sceptics and The Unengaged Investment in renewable energy is particularly divisive – with 73% of Planetary Stew 61
- Slide 62: Planetary Stewards and Concerned Optimists are more likely to show strong support for the proposals for participatory democracy, particularly global citizens surveys and referenda Whereas, Steady Progressives, Climate Sceptics and The Unengaged 62
- Slide 63: Segment demographics 63
- Slide 64: Segment demographics (2) 64
- Slide 65: Thank you 65
- Slide 66: Ipsos Standards & Accreditations (for reports) 66
- Slide 67: Appendix: country ranking charts 67
- Slide 68: How exposed, if at all, are you personally to environmental and climate related risks, and threats (e.g. fires, floods, pollution, extreme weather conditions, etc.)? 68
- Slide 69: How worried, if at all, are you about the following? (Extremely / very / somewhat worried). 69
- Slide 70: Because of human activities, the Earth is close to environmental ‘tipping points’ where climate or nature, such as rainforests or glaciers, may change suddenly or be more difficult to stabilise in the future. 70
- Slide 71: New technologies can solve environmental problems without individuals having to make big changes in their lives. 71
- Slide 72: Many of the claims about environmental threats are exaggerated. 72
- Slide 73: Human health and wellbeing are closely connected to the health and wellbeing of nature. 73
- Slide 74: Nature can meet the needs of humans right now. 74
- Slide 75: Nature is already too damaged to continue meeting humans’ needs in the long-term. 75
- Slide 76: Addressing climate change and environmental damage can bring many benefits to people in [COUNTRY]. 76
- Slide 77: [COUNTRY]’s government is doing enough to tackle climate change and environmental damage. 77
- Slide 78: The costs of the damages due to environmental pollution are much higher than the costs of the investments needed for a green transition. 78
- Slide 79: It should be a criminal offence for leaders of large businesses or senior government officials to approve or permit actions they know are likely to cause damage to nature and climate that is widespread, long term or cannot be reversed. 79
- Slide 80: Thinking about climate change and protecting nature, how quickly do you think the world needs to take major action to reduce carbon emissions from electricity, transport, food, industry, and buildings? 80
