Only 21.1% Indians see climate change as a pressing issue: Survey

Despite facing record-breaking heatwaves this year, only 21.1 percent of Indians see climate change as the most pressing issue, a survey has found, with the vast majority of respondents optimistic about averting a climate disaster during their lifetime.

The Climate Reality Barometer 2022 published by Epson, a digital imaging and printing solutions company, surveyed 26,205 people across 28 countries, including India.

The latest findings show that people across the globe are stepping up personal efforts to avert or at least slow climate change. While the world economy proves to be a distraction from efforts to address climate challenges, climate change remains a primary concern for many, the study suggests.

The survey report, however, paints a worrying picture for India. Even after facing record-breaking temperatures this summer, respondents from India were the most optimistic about the climate crisis. As much as 78.3 percent of Indians surveyed were optimistic about averting a climate disaster in their lifetime.

Only 10.8 percent of Indians were pessimistic about averting a climate disaster in their lifetime. In contrast, this figure was a whopping 53.5 percent for France, while 67.4 percent of the respondents from Japan were unconvinced.

The survey shows that a greater number of Indians considered inflation as a bigger problem than the climate. Over a third (39.2 percent) of the Indians surveyed believe that rising prices and fixing the economy are the most urgent issues governments, companies and people around the world should focus on.

According to Epson, the growing optimism in India and across the globe appears to contradict climate reality. "Short-term economic demands are in danger of distracting governments, businesses, and individuals from imperative environmental action. The world needs to keep its focus and ensure decisive, rapid, and effective responses to the ongoing climate emergency," the company said in a statement.

Increase in individual actions

On a promising note, the survey found that more individuals across the world are taking action to mitigate the climate emergency on a personal level. In India, 66.7 percent of the respondents said they had reduced the use of plastic.

Further, 61.6 percent of the respondents said they were walking or cycling more often and 60.5 percent said they had improved their recycling habits.

"For those who have taken up actions to mitigate the impacts of climate change, there are some gaps in terms of how people have consistently committed to these actions. For example, just (20.8 percent) have tried reducing plastic use for longer than a year and continue to do so. The efforts to build awareness and inspire change need to be ongoing and consistent," said Epson.

The findings show that company or community sustainability programmes were the key driver of change in India, being attributed to 39.8 percent of the same. They are closely followed by government policy changes (38.9 percent) and influencers (37.2 percent).