Reuters 25 Jan 10;
NEW YORK (Reuters) - About two thirds of people believe their government and business leaders are not taking the right steps or at the right pace to prevent global climate change, according to a joint Reuters/Ipsos international poll.
The survey of about 24,000 people in 23 countries, conducted in the lead up to, during and following the Copenhagen Climate Conference in December last year, found 65 percent of respondents were not happy with the progress and actions to date to conserve the environment.
Only 35 percent said their government and business leaders were doing the right thing -- and only three countries would get passing grades on their environmental credentials from their citizens.
These were China which received 86 percent support from its people, India with 60 percent support, and Turkey with 54 percent.
"It's clear that global citizens are underwhelmed by the leadership shown by their own government and business leaders in tackling what they perceive to be a serious threat to the world and themselves," said John Wright, senior vice president of public affairs from market research company Ipsos.
"The outcome of the recent climate conference in Copenhagen simply goes to reinforce any existing view that much of the backbone and courage that's needed on this issue is missing in action."
More than 20 countries, including China and the United States, agreed to a non-binding Copenhagen Accord at the chaotic 190-nation U.N. climate summit without any commitment to numbers and with the absence of the EU.
Officials acknowledge privately that the mandatory system for enforcing emissions curbs created by the 1997 Kyoto protocol is doomed because China, the world's biggest emitter of man-made greenhouse gases, won't accept any constraints on its future economic growth and the United States won't join any agreement that is not binding on Beijing.
The United States, the world's second-largest emitter, has not formed a national plan to cut emissions as climate legislation has stalled in the Senate. Major developing countries want Washington to act first before agreeing to binding action.
The following results table from the Reuters/Ipsos poll begins with the countries where citizens are least likely to agree "that their government and business leaders are taking the right steps and pace to prevent global climate change":
Agree Disagree
Argentina 16 percent 84 percent
Mexico 17 percent 83 percent
France 19 percent 81 percent
Belgium 20 percent 80 percent
Hungary 23 percent 77 percent
Germany 24 percent 76 percent
Poland 24 percent 76 percent
Italy 26 percent 74 percent
Czech Republic 26 percent 74 percent
Netherlands 26 percent 74 percent
Sweden 29 percent 71 percent
Britain 33 percent 67 percent
Canada 34 percent 66 percent
Russia 35 percent 65 percent
Spain 35 percent 65 percent
United States 38 percent 62 percent
Brazil 43 percent 57 percent
South Korea 43 percent 57 percent
Japan 45 percent 55 percent
Australia 48 percent 52 percent
Turkey 54 percent 46 percent
India 60 percent 40 percent
China 86 percent 14 percent
About 1,000 individuals participated on a country by country basis via an Ipsos (http:/www.ipsos.com) online panel with weighting employed to balance demographics and ensure that the sample's composition reflected that of the adult population according to the most recent country census data.
Other Reuters/Ipsos polls can be found at http:/www.ipsos-na.com/news/reuters/.
(Writing by Belinda Goldsmith, Editing by Miral Fahmy)
