Chile is country most challenged to take concrete action against climate change

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – 84% of national respondents believe that the government is failing its citizens if it does not act now against the environmental crisis. Six out of 10 Chileans say they are very likely to avoid products with lots of packaging in the coming year.

In its latest report, “Earth Day 2021: Public Opinion and Action on Climate Change,” international consulting firm Ipsos released a survey conducted in 30 countries that asked more than 21,000 adults for their opinions on actions to curb ongoing climate change.

Read also: Check out our coverage on Chile

When asked about the premise that “If the government does not act now to combat climate change, it is failing the country’s population,” 84% of Chileans agreed with this statement, ranking first among the countries surveyed.

In fact, only 7% of national respondents disagreed with this statement. In this regard, the percentage of people agreeing with this statement increased from 83% to 84% in 2021, while the global average of people agreeing with this statement was 65% in that year.

Another finding of the Ipsos survey is that the demand for companies to take action on climate change is similar to that expected from the government. Here, 86% of Chileans believe that companies that do not act on climate change are letting down their employees and customers.

Chile also ranks first in the world on this point, followed by Peru and Colombia with 85% and 83%, respectively. Miguel Angel Pinto, Public Affairs at Ipsos Chile, explains that “for several years we have seen a steady increase in Chileans’ concern about the environment and climate change. Persistent drought, water scarcity, and some extreme weather events have made us one of the countries most concerned about the effects of global climate change. Therefore, it is not surprising that Chileans are demanding more action from both the state and the business sector.”

The high demand for government action on climate change contrasts with low appreciation and recognition of the actions already taken. The survey found that only 24% of Chileans agree when asked if the government has a clear plan to combat climate change, while 46% disagree.

As in other countries worldwide, having a commitment to zero carbon emissions by 2050 does not necessarily mean the government has more plans. According to Pinto, “despite a defined environmental agenda by the state and a decarbonization policy to replace it with renewable energy, it seems that citizens are not informed or do not consider these measures sufficient. Making these and other actions to combat climate change visible is also an important task because it could motivate citizens to contribute from the individual sphere to a project that should be common to all actors.”

When it comes to personal responsibility for combating climate change, Chile ranks second in the world. Here, 88% of Chileans believe that they will be letting down the next generations if they do not act now. Colombia tops the rankings on this issue, with 89% of the population supporting this position. The global average is 72%.

The statement “Combating climate change should not be a priority for my country’s government amid Covid-19’s economic recovery” is disagreed with by 48% of Chileans, ranking second, above the world average (35%) and only behind Colombia (54%).

When it comes to personal behavior changes if pandemic restrictions are lifted, avoiding food waste has the highest global agreement (39%), followed by walking or biking instead of using a car (34%), buying only what is necessary (34%), working remotely (31%), going on vacation to places that don’t require flying (26%), and finally, buying used items instead of new (25%).

CAREFUL WITH FOOD

Of all of these, Chile tops the rankings when it comes to avoiding food waste, with 56% of national respondents favoring such an option. People were asked what actions they could take to protect the environment and how likely they are to do so in the coming year. Here, 62% of Chileans said they would be very likely to avoid products with a lot of packaging.

In addition, 58% of respondents believe they will avoid buying new products and instead repair the ones they have or buy used products, and 55% are likely to recycle materials such as plastic, paper and glass.

However, as the first Ipsos Earth Day release had already shown, the most popular actions people intend to take are also those that have the least impact on climate change, while the personal actions that have the greatest impact, such as a vegetarian diet, are the least mentioned by respondents.