A new poll conducted by Omnisis for the Guardian on Friday, near the midpoint of Cop27, has shown the significant majority of people in the UK think the country has a responsibility to pay for climate action in poorer and vulnerable countries.
The issue of rich, polluting countries providing substantial funding to developing countries is central to the UN’s two-week Cop27 climate summit in Egypt.
Experts have warned that, without the flow of many billions of dollars to help cut emissions and cope with increasingly severe environmental impacts, there will not be the trust needed for the combined global action required to beat the crisis.
The poll told those questioned that the UK’s total emissions over time are among the highest in the world, while poorer countries have produced very few emissions. The results showed 49% of people said the UK did have a responsibility to provide climate funding, with 31% saying the UK did not and 20% saying they did not know.
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The Guardian revealed last week that the UK, along with the US and Australia, had not provided their “fair share” of climate finance.
In a similar poll conducted across all G7 countries, 65% of people agreed that richer countries should pay more of the costs of climate action because they were historically responsible for more damage, with 11% disagreeing.
A significant majority of people said acting to stop the climate emergency would be good for the UK economy: 48% compared with 38% saying it would be bad for the economy. People of all ages and every political party agreed climate action would benefit the economy.
The poll questioned about 1,200 people on 11 November and is weighted to a nationally representative population.
Story was adapted from the Guardian.
