As world leaders struggle to manage the climate crisis, vulnerable communities around the world are bearing the brunt. Younger people in middle-income countries say they are ready to change their lifestyles, while also pinning their hopes on global cooperation to find sustainable solutions. Mint examines two recent surveys that shed light on people’s attitudes towards climate change.
Effective or merely symbolic?
While the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change has produced landmark agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol (binding targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions) and the 2015 Paris Agreement (limiting global warming well below 2°C), overall progress remains slow and insufficient. Three decades since its inception, debates rage over the effectiveness of the COP, although many argue that it remains essential to international climate cooperation.
A recent survey of 23,700 respondents in 30 countries by Paris-based market research firm Ipsos Global Advisor found that almost one in two people (49%) believe COP30 is “merely symbolic” and will not drive real climate action, while a third believe it will prove “effective”. The remaining 17% were neutral. Interestingly, the opinions of people in developed and developing countries differed significantly. Developed countries were largely skeptical of climate action, with 46% in the US and 73% in France saying the summit was merely symbolic. In contrast, this figure was much smaller in countries such as India (28%), Indonesia (16%) and South Africa (37%), among others.
Communities in crisis
The global climate crisis has long been considered one of the biggest problems of this century. Its impact is seen more than ever in the form of heat waves, forest fires and flash floods.
A separate survey of 12,375 people by the US research team Pew Research Center, focusing on middle-income countries, revealed widespread alarm in nine countries – Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Turkey, India and Indonesia. Mexico led the way with 83% of respondents saying the climate affected local communities, closely followed by Argentina (81%) and Turkey (79%). In India, three-quarters of respondents said climate change affects them where they live and work. More than a third of Indian respondents said they were “very affected” by climate change. This was the third lowest after Indonesia (33%) and Nigeria (26%).
Although this number is low, more and more people in India are reporting serious risks from climate change. In 2019, only 28% said they were “very affected” by climate change. Growth was much higher in Brazil, which saw a 12 percentage point increase from 2019 to 62% in 2025.
Shifting opinions
Many people in middle-income countries who have witnessed climate impacts in their communities are also deeply concerned about their future. The Pew survey found that a majority of respondents in all nine countries, including 72% in Nigeria and 91% in Indonesia, worry that climate change will someday harm them personally. The intensity of this concern is particularly remarkable. About two-thirds in Indonesia and Argentina are “very concerned” about personal harm from climate change, while 48% of Indians and 56% of Brazilians share deep concerns.
But a comparison with a 2015 Pew survey shows notable shifts, with fewer adults in five of nine countries now reporting such deep concerns. Nigeria saw the steepest decline, falling from 63% to 38%, followed by Brazil (78% to 56%) and India (69% to 48%). On the other hand, concerns increased in Indonesia (42% to 63%), South Africa (39% to 60%) and Argentina (58% to 64%).
Young vs old
As the climate crisis worsened, young people in several parts of the world changed their lifestyles – using paper straws, carrying cloth bags and buying electric vehicles. It became a mass movement, with companies joining in as well. While many world leaders downplay or deny the climate crisis, young people’s commitment to saving the planet is unwavering. Across all nine countries, those witnessing climate change firsthand show a greater willingness to change their lifestyles, with a median of 80% saying they would make at least some changes to combat the crisis, based on the younger cohort.
Younger adults (ages 18-34) consistently outperform their older counterparts (50+) in willingness to act. Indonesia has the most stark difference: 89% of young people are ready for change versus 69% of older adults, followed by Turkey (64% versus 45%). India and Nigeria had the narrowest differences of just 6 and 3 percentage points, respectively.
This generational gap also extends to personal concerns. In India, Indonesia, Mexico and Turkey, younger adults express significantly more concern about climate change personally harming them than those aged 50 and older.
Persistent problem
Respondents also indicated that the failure to sustainably address the climate crisis may be rooted in governance failures. From a lack of political will and weak enforcement to insufficient funding, respondents identified several reasons for the lack of progress in this area, the Ipsos survey showed.
Respondents from India cited a lack of enforcement against deforestation and pollution as the main obstacle (44%), reflecting the current anger at the country’s crippling air pollution. Technology gaps followed at 32%, while 30% cited a lack of funding for environmental projects. One in four respondents indicated a lack of political will on the part of government officials. Surprisingly, only 14% said dependence on fossil fuels is a major obstacle, despite India’s current and future dependence on coal to meet its energy needs.
While the COP remains a battleground between historic emitters (US and Europe) and emerging economies (China and India), the world needs urgent action and cooperation to address the greatest crisis of our time.
