Recession Blues Cool Off the Greens

Call it a coincidence, or even a prophecy, but the Nielsen Climate Survey
that was released on the eve of the Copenhagen talks had quite effectively
predicted what the end of the summit is going to look like.

Although, Copenhagen did bring climate talks to the forefront amid chaos and
indecision, it also sparked that inevitable questionis the world really serious
about climate change?

The answers to that question can be yes, no, or maybedepending on the
people. But as is often said, some stories are told by people, the others by
numbers. And the climate change story is woven quite nicely by the numbers
presented by this survey.

And the numbers sure are astonishing. A world where almost everything is
being served with a tinge of green, how can that very world be showing
diminishing concerns over climate change? Well, one explanation lies in the
downturn phenomenon that took the world by its toes. With the leaders of
countries reeling under the bailouts, it was the green of money, rather than
green of environment that assumed precedence.

The other reason of course, can be that maybe the people in general are
finally feeling that environment is just getting a bit over-hyped; and instead
of churning out solutions, the environment debate is just becoming an endless
rhetoric.

To add to all that, last year no documentary like An Inconvenient Truth
created a big bang. And since that was released way back in 2007, the impact of
that bang is certainly fading.

Of People and Percentages

According to the survey, the concern for climate change has declined
globally in the past two years with many countries recording a double digit
fall. It might come as a shock for many, but thirty-five out of the fifty-four
countries surveyed recorded a decline in their concern for climate change. This
negative shift was led by Poland that recorded a 23% decline, and Canada with a
corresponding figure of 22%.

Climate change concern also fell by 18% in Portugal; and by 17% in Taiwan,
Spain, and Sweden. "The global recession and economic woes temporarily knocked
the climate change issue off the topline agenda, but as the recession is now
beginning to recede, we expect the Copenhagen Summit may push this important
issue to the forefront again," said Jonathan Banks, business insights director,
Europe, The Nielsen Company, when the report was released.

And, though the Copenhagen did its bit in bringing back the issue to the
forefront, it too was marked with confusion and indecision. We have a separate
analysis of that one, so back to the survey for now.

The survey indicates that concern and awareness for climate change and the
environment peaked around the year 2007, thanks to the Live Earth concerts, and
the launch of Al Gores acclaimed documentary An Inconvenient Truth.

With things like the above cooling off, the only thing that has become hotter
is the debate between climate change cynics and the climate change champions.
While the first group is busy proclaiming it all as propaganda, the latter one
is busy proving rising temperatures.

Western Disillusion, Eastern Awakening

Even as the western nations are displaying leaner concerns for the climate,
it is the eastern nations that are undergoing the big climate awakening.

In the USthe #2 emitter after China and the only industrialized nation
outside the UNs existing Kyoto Protocol for curbing emissionsthe number of
those very concerned fell to 25% from 34%.

Countries like Poland and Canada also faced a decline as did countries like
Sweden and Spain. North America lagged behind all global regions with only a
quarter of respondents saying that they were very concerned about climate
change. Also, Indonesia and Brazilthe two most concerned countries in
2007recorded a 10% and 18% decline respectively in their climate related
concerns.

While western nations emitted bad news for climate warriors, the good winds
were blowing from the eastern quarters. Chinathe top emitter of greenhouse
gaseswas among the few nations surveyed where the number of people very
concerned rose to 36% from 30% in 2007.

The survey also indicated that the highest level of concern was expressed in
Latin America (57%) and Asia Pacific (42%). There is green news coming from the
Indian territory as well. 54% people surveyed in India expressed a great concern
for climate issues in the 2009 survey. The figure is just marginally up from 53%
in the survey conducted in 2007.

This also corroborates the survey on the Indian CIOs that we covered in the
last issue. A higher percentage of Indian CIOs have green high on their agenda
when compared to their global counterparts. They too represent India after all!

Individual and Society

No, our aim is not to suddenly start about some literary theory of Foucault.
It is merely to analyze who the citizens of this world think is responsible for
green and environment friendly practices.

While, people worldwide feel that climate initiatives should be led by the
government, there is a regional attitude apparent in the outcomes. The people in
the Europe and Latin America feel most favorably about major government-led
research in climate change solutions; while those in the APAC countries echo the
need of a restrictive mechanism in place, whereby the governments shall restrict
the CO2 emissions of companies and put various such caps.

Consumers in the Middle East/Africa are the most in favor of major government
investments into improving public transport systems. North Americans, however,
are the least in favor of government intervention or action towards climate
change; and top regional rankings for personal actions to combat climate change
such as recycling waste, decreasing personal energy usage, and switching to more
energy efficient light bulbs, fixtures, and electrical appliances.

In line with global sentiments, the majority of consumers in India still
believe that the main responsibility for solving climate change should lie with
the government. 37% Indians said that governments should restrict companies
emissions of carbon dioxide and other pollutants, 36% consumers worldwide feel
the same.

28% Indians also feel that there should be major government-led initiatives
for research into scientific and technological solutions like low emission cars,
houses, and renewable energy. This fact once again reinforces that India is
increasingly looking the technology way for a greener future. Nearly three in
ten Indians also said that there should be a switch to more energy efficient
light bulbs, fixtures, and electrical appliances to combat climate change. More
than a quarter of Indian consumers believe in recycling consumer waste and
saving electricity to address issues of climate change and global warming.

23% Indians also believe that the government should invest in improving
public transport systems; and 22% believe that there should be government
incentives (tax breaks or subsidies) to individuals for good, less, or
non-polluting behavior.

Mehak Chawla

mehakc@cybermedia.co.in