A new poll has revealed that a majority of Australians think that the Australian Government should be doing more to support developing countries in the face of climate change.
The poll done by YouGov on behalf of the aid organisation CARE Australia showed that most Aussies believe that rich countries have contributed the most to climate change.
However, many remain unaware of Australia’s per capita emissions in comparison to other industrialised countries such as the US and China.
CARE Australia’s CEO Peter Walton said the poll was a clear indication that the public sees the injustices caused by the effects of climate change and that they want the government to make it right.
“As we head into COP26, we need to be talking about the fundamental injustice of climate change. The people who have done the least to cause it — including people living in poverty, women and other marginalised groups — are feeling the effects the most,” he said.
“Our Pacific Island neighbours, for instance, have contributed minimally to climate change yet they are paying the price via rising sea levels, increasingly severe cyclones, and threatened reefs.”
The poll was conducted between 24 and 27 September, surveying a nationally representative sample of 1,025 Australian residents aged 18 and over.
The poll found the following:
- 61% of Australians think our government should do more to help poorer countries in the face of climate change
- 64% of Australians think rich countries have contributed the most to climate change and should be doing the most to combat it
- 58% of Australians think climate change impacts poor people more than wealthy people
- 61% of Australians think people in Pacific Island countries face the most risk from disasters fuelled by climate change
- Only 14% of Australians correctly state that Australia’s per capita emissions are higher than China’s (Australia emits 15.5 metric tonnes of CO2 per capita, China emits 7.4)
In CARE Australia’s new report “Making Things Right”, they call on the Australian Government to listen to the public and increase funding to support developing countries to deal with climate change. The report stated that funding should be in addition to, not instead of, existing aid projects.
Additional funding could improve infrastructure to withstand disasters and rising sea levels, strengthen early-warning systems, and train people in adaptive farming and fishing techniques.
CARE also recommends at least 20% of funding go to projects that specifically target women and address gender inequality, recognizing that women are particularly vulnerable to the climate crisis.
The US, UK and Canada have all doubled their climate finance commitments in 2021.