Citizens Want Tough Environmental Action Now

Recent research shows that the environment continues to be a pressing top-of-mind concern to millions of citizens around the world, and they are calling for tougher laws to ensure pollution is controlled. In the past year alone, there has been a significant increase in public belief that action is needed to protect earth's climate even if there are major economic costs involved.

These are some of the preliminary findings of the largest global public opinion poll on environmental topics ever undertaken. Co-ordinated by Environics International Ltd. of Toronto, Canada, and conducted by leading survey research companies in 31 countries (including MORI in Great Britain), a total of c.35,000 citizens were interviewed during March and April 1998. The full results will be published this July as the second annual International Environmental Monitor, a private research report to subscribing multinational corporations and government agencies.

In releasing early results from Great Britain today in London, Mr Stewart Lewis, Director of MORI said, These findings nail the myth that the environment is yesterday's issue. Not only is the British public deeply concerned about environmental issues, they want to see real action from government and business.

In common with other countries, the public in Britain would like to see stronger environmental laws and regulations. Almost three-quarters (73%) say environmental laws don't go far enough.

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Citizens are actually taking action themselves to pressure governments in this direction. In the UK, over one in five citizens voted or considered voting for or against a political candidate or party because of their environmental policy. In addition around one in ten have personally urged specific changes to government environmental policy and one in five support an environmental group.

Climate change is one environmental issue that has received a great deal of media and public attention over the past year, especially leading up to and during last December's United Nations conference in Kyoto, Japan where industrialised countries agreed to begin to reduce their emissions of climate changing gases.

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The majority of global citizens now believe that despite scientific uncertainty, we must assume the worst on climate change and take major action now, rather than wait until we know more, even if major costs are involved. This represents a clear swing towards a more environmentalist view since last year's International Environmental Monitor. In Britain, which falls mid-way among other countries measured, two-thirds support immediate action.

Companies all over the world will be forced to take note of this increased salience of environmental over economic concerns as the study also revealed that environmental concerns actually effect consumer choices. Almost half of the general public in the UK have bought products specifically because they were better for the environment and another two in five have avoided a particular brand or product for environmental reasons.

Environics International Ltd and MORI plan to continue the International Environmental Monitor survey annually, and will be releasing more of the global findings in June.

Laws "don't go far enough," world public says in largest environment survey