Majority across the G20 support broader political and economic systems reform

The Earth4All global survey ran across 22 countries (18 countries within the G20 (excluding Russia) plus Austria, Denmark, Kenya and Sweden) and measures attitudes to societal transformations, political/economic systems and planetary stewardship. In particular, the survey focused on: values and worldviews, attitudes towards nature and planetary stewardship, attitudes towards national and global political and economic systems and levels of support for Earth4All policy recommendations. This first report covers views on political and economic transformation across the 18 G20 countries surveyed, while the findings on planetary stewardship will be released later in September.

The findings are timely given the range of elections being held across the world in 2024 and show broad consensus across the G20, evidencing a strong desire for more action to address the wellbeing of people and planet.

• People support reforming national and global political and economic systems: The majority across the G20 support political system reform, with 65% agreeing that the political system of their country needs to be completely reformed or needs major changes. On national economies, two thirds say the same of the economic system of their country. Regarding wider global reform, three in five agree that the global political system needs to be completely reformed or needs major changes. Two in three say the same of the global economic system.
• There is also a prevailing lack of trust in national governments: Just two in five across the G20 agree that their country’s government can be trusted to make decisions for the benefit of the majority of people.
• People across the G20 see the need for urgent action to reduce carbon emissions:  71% believe the world needs to take action immediately within the next decade to reduce carbon emissions from electricity, transport, food, industry and buildings. There is also majority support for giving legal rights to future generations in national laws and to nature in national laws.
• There is widespread support for wellbeing economies: The majority of people see economic inequality as a problem, nationally and globally. Two thirds agree there is too much economic inequality in their country these days, while three in five agree the way in which the world’s economy works now is unfair to poorer countries. The findings demonstrate a high level of support for wellbeing economies among those surveyed in the G20. 68% agree that the way the economy works should prioritise the health and wellbeing of people and nature, rather than solely focusing upon profit and increasing wealth.
• Economic growth is still seen as the driver of wellbeing: Three in five agree that focusing on economic growth is the best way to achieve wealth and wellbeing for all. Just one in ten disagree with this statement. The link between the economic system and environmental damage is not firmly established either, with two in five agreeing that the economic system is bad for the environment compared to one in five who disagree. However, people are split on the concept of ‘trickle-down’ economics, with two in five agreeing that when some people get rich it leads to more wealth for all, while 30% disagree.
• There is support for all of Earth4All’s policy proposals, and for paying for them through progressive taxation: Earth4All has proposed several global policies to improve people’s wellbeing and quality of life and respond to global challenges. Ensuring access to free or affordable healthcare, strengthening workers’ rights and broadly investing in a green transition are the policies with the highest support. The vast majority of those in the G20 support a polluter-pays tax, with 71% agreeing that people and companies that pollute the environment, for example by causing greenhouse gas emissions, should pay higher taxes, with the money raised to be shared out among people and companies who pollute less. 

Rachel Brisley, Head of Energy and Environment at Ipsos said:

This survey highlights a real appetite for action to address the wellbeing of people and planet, across the G20. People believe their economies should move past a singular focus on economic growth and want to see health, livelihoods and a green transition prioritised. However, with relatively low trust in government across the countries surveyed, policymakers have much to do to both bring people onboard and deliver benefits for their citizens and nature.

Technical note

• This research was commissioned by Earth4All and the Global Commons Alliance, in partnership with The Policy Institute Kings College, Wellbeing Alliance, ISWE and Wellbeing Economy Alliance.
• Data for this survey was collected through Ipsos i-Say Online Panel surveys run across 22 countries between 5th March and 8th April 2024. The sample for the survey overall was 22,000 adults aged 18 to 55-75. This included 18 G20 countries (Argentina (1,000), Australia (1,000), Brazil (1,000), Canada (1,000), China (1,000), France (1,000), Germany (1,000), India (1,000), Indonesia (1,000), Italy (1,000), Japan (1,000), Mexico (1,000), Saudi Arabia (1,000), South Africa (1,000), South Korea (1,000), Türkiye (1,000), United Kingdom (1,000), United States (1,000)), plus four countries outside the G20 (Austria (1,000), Denmark (1,000), Kenya (1,000) and Sweden (1,000)).
• Quota sampling was used and the data is weighted to be representative of the profile of the population in each country on age, gender, region and working status. 
• The results presented here are the arithmetic average of national responses across the 18 G20 countries surveyed, where the results from each country have the same weight and are not pro-rata to the true population proportions for this audience. A sample of 18,000 people was gathered (or 17,000 in cases where questions were not asked in China).