Despite feeling the heat, Indians optimistic about avoiding climate disaster

India has the second-largest share of population that is optimistic about averting a climate disaster during their lifetime

Although India saw record high temperatures this year, more than three-fourths of its people still remain hopeful about not having to face the dire consequences of climate change during their lifetime. As many as 76.69 percent of Indians feel optimistic about averting a climate disaster during their lifetime, well above the global average of 47.04 percent, according to the Climate Reality Barometer 2023 published by Epson, a printing and imaging equipment company.

However, the share of Indians who think that climate change is the biggest issue facing the world today has gone up from just 21.1 percent recorded in 2022 to 58.64 percent this year. Meanwhile, 46.4 percent of Indians think that rising prices are the biggest issue. Globally too climate change is the top issue with 55.32 percent of respondents rating it as a major concern.

The report, which is based on a survey of 30,000 people across 39 global markets, shows that India has the second-largest share of population that is optimistic about averting a climate disaster during their lifetime. Only Saudi Arabia is ranked higher than India.

On the other hand, Japan has the highest share of population who are pessimistic about averting a climate disaster during their lifetime, with nearly half the population believing the same. Meanwhile, only 10.38 percent of Indians are pessimistic about averting a climate disaster during their lifetime.

Differences between Indian cities

High optimism about averting a climate disaster in the coming years could be an indicator of ambivalence towards climate change. “In India, it’s concerning to see that a very significant percentage of people feel positive and hopeful about climate change, despite the challenges we face,” said the report.

This optimism, however, varies across Indian metro cities, with Delhi being the most positive and Ahmedabad being the least.

Individual actions

Amid increasing frequency of climate events, the survey found that at an individual level, Indians are taking more efforts to tackle climate change. They outperformed the global average on most parameters when it comes to actions already being taken or those that people are willing to take in the future related to climate change.

Meanwhile, as many as 52.63 percent of Indians have already switched to more sustainable brands, while a further 38.4 percent are planning to do so in the future.

Interestingly, 40.06 percent of the Indians surveyed said that they currently boycott products from unsustainable brands, and a further 43.29 percent plan to do so in the future. This indicates that there is a growing preference for sustainable brands among Indian consumers. A large share of Indians are also planning to switch to electric vehicles in the future.