Climate change presents a significant global challenge. It (allegedly) causes severe weather patterns, crop damage, and rising sea levels. However, not everybody sees it as a threat.

For this graphic, Visual Capitalist’s Alan Kennedy and Sabrina Fortin partnered with Lloyd’s Register Foundation to explore one of their most recent reports, World Risk Poll 2021: A Changed World? And dig into the data to see why many people worldwide are unsure of climate change as a threat.

Are We United or Divided? 

As part of the World Risk Poll 2021, Lloyd’s Register Foundation partnered with Gallup and surveyed 125,911 people in 121 countries. 

They asked whether climate change will threaten, somewhat threaten, or not threaten their nation in the next 20 years. These nations were ranked by the total number of respondents who view climate change as a threat, somewhat or otherwise.  

90% of Northern and Western European respondents view climate change as a threat. So, it’s no surprise that many nations with the highest percentage of those who see climate change as a threat are European.

Rank
Country
View as Threat
Don’t View as a Threat
1
🇮🇹 Italy
95.4%
4.6%
2
🇨🇭 Switzerland
95.3%
4.7%
3
🇪🇸 Spain
93.7%
6.3%
4
🇨🇱 Chile
93.5%
6.5%
5
🇬🇷 Greece
92.6%
7.4%
6
🇯🇵 Japan
92.5%
7.5%
7
🇫🇷 France
92.3%
7.7%
8
🇵🇹 Portugal
92.3%
7.7%
9
🇰🇷 South Korea
91.6%
8.4%
10
🇩🇪 Germany
91.3%
8.7%

Meanwhile, the highest percentage of people viewing climate change as a non-threat live in developing or non-Western economies. Here are the bottom 10 countries covered by the report.

Rank
Country
View as Threat
Don’t View as a Threat
112
🇲🇲 Myanmar
54.0%
46.0%
113
🇨🇳 China
53.7%
46.3%
114
🇮🇩 Indonesia
53.4%
46.6%
115
🇲🇿 Mozambique
48.9%
51.1%
116
🇲🇦 Morocco
48.7%
51.3%
117
🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates
48.6%
51.4%
119
🇪🇬 Egypt
47.8%
52.2%
119
🇯🇴 Jordan
46.6%
53.4%
120
🇱🇦 Laos
37.5%
62.5%
121
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia
30.9%
69.1%

Teaching the World About Climate Change

Education is critical in shaping one’s sentiment toward climate change, not just nationality. The data indicates that as the level of education increases, so does the understanding of climate change as a threat.

 
View As a Threat
Don’t View as a Threat
Primary Education (0-8 Years)
55%
45%
Secondary Education (9-15 Years)
75%
25%
Post-Secondary Education (16+ years)
81%
19%

A World of Risk

Despite 75% of the world viewing climate change as a threat to their nation in the next 20 years, nearly 2 billion people worldwide still don’t.

Lloyd’s Register Foundation created The World Risk Poll 2021 to give a better understanding of ordinary people’s risks and does not just cover climate change.

The World Risk Poll 2021 also offers insight into our sentiment toward AI, workplace safety, and financial resilience.