Majority of Australians believe urgent action is needed to combat climate change or we risk failing future generations

More than half of Australians believe urgent action is needed to combat climate change, or we risk failing future generations, according to Ipsos’ 2025 People & Climate Change study.

The Ipsos study provides an updated view on Australians’ attitudes towards the global climate crisis and the transition to net zero emissions. Ipsos conducted the study in 32 countries between 24 January and 7 February this year.

More than half (56%) of Australians agreed that if individuals don’t act now to combat climate change, we will be failing future generations. Agreement with the statement has been steady over the last three years, following a sharp drop in 2022. Australia was lower, however, than the global country average which was 64% across 32 countries. Concern was greatest in the Philippines (82%), Indonesia (81%) and Mexico (80%).

More than half (56%) also believe the nation should do more in the fight against climate change.  Again this is in line with 2024, but down marginally on 2023 (60%) and below  the global country average of 62%.

Like many countries around the world there is limited belief in Australia that the government has a clear plan in place for how it, businesses and the population are going to work together to tackle climate change. Only 28% of Australians surveyed agreed, whereas 34% disagreed, with the remainder uncertain.  Australia again was below the global country average of 32%.

Interestingly our belief in the government has been somewhat volatile; it is higher than last year (24%) after declining from 30% in 2023 and 37% in 2022, which was a sharp rise from 29% in 2021.  Ipsos’ data collection occurs in January and February each year so the sharp increase seen in 2022 can not be attributed to the Albanese Government coming to power as this occurred in late May.

Key Australian findings

Strong concern about the impacts of climate change

Six in 10 (64%) Australians said they were concerned about the impacts of climate change on the country, which is in line with the 2022 figure (65%) and below the global country average of 74%.

Concern about the negative impacts of the transition to green energy on household electricity bills, energy reliability, and other aspects

• There is still concern among Australians on the impact of the transition to green energy – just over four in ten  (44%, in line with the global country average) believe transitioning to renewable energy will lead to an increase in household energy prices. 
• Further, 30% believe the transition will lead to more blackouts and brownouts, which is slightly higher than the global country average of 27%. 
• Electric cars are as bad for the planet as petrol cars (36% agree)
• Offshore wind farms cause harm to wildlife (27% agree)

Businesses failing their employees and customers

More than half of us (53%) agree that if businesses do not act now to combat climate change, they will be failing their employees and customers. Interestingly we were well below the global country average of 60% and are among the least likely to hold this view alongside the US (48%), Switzerland and Poland (44%), Germany (43%) and Japan (37%).

Australians still divided on the impacts of climate change 

A lack of overwhelming agreement with several key statements showed Australians are divided on the direct impact of climate change. For example:

• Climate change is the single biggest health threat facing humanity (38% agree).  This is another measure where we are among the least likely to agree, this time alongside Canada (37%), US (32%), Italy (22%) and Hungary 12%. The global country average is 49%.
• The past 10 years have been the warmest on record (56% agree versus the global country average of 61%)

Shagnik Lahiri, Research Manager at Ipsos Public Affairs Australia, said: “Australians continue to be concerned about the need for urgent action to tackle climate change. There is a deep understanding by most Aussies that if we don’t act now, we risk leaving the planet in a far worse state for future generations. However, there is also uncertainty about what the transition to net zero means for them, particularly in terms of energy costs and reliability.
“Interestingly, we aren’t putting all of the pressure on government.  It is clear that we also see an important role for individuals and businesses as we look to tackle climate change and the transition of our energy.  Australian businesses should take note, half of us believe they will be failing their employees and their customers if they don’t act now to combat climate change. 
“Australians are calling on government and businesses to provide clear, effective strategies on addressing climate change risk. We, like many around the world, lack faith in the government’s ability to lead on this issue, both domestically and on the world stage. It’s worth noting that this isn’t a reflection on the Albanese Government as the level of belief in a government plan is the same today as they were back in 2021 prior to the change of Government in 2022.””

Just a quarter of those surveyed believe Australia is a world leader in the fight against climate change. This is consistent with the previous two years that this question has been asked but a little below the global country average of 28%.