G20 countries represent about 85% of the global GDP, 78% of greenhouse gas emissions, more than 75% of global trade, and about two-thirds of the world population.
Seventy-two percent of respondents in a new global survey believe that approving or permitting actions that cause serious damage to nature and climate should be a criminal offence.
This key finding emerged from the latest Global Commons Survey 2024, conducted by market research group Ipsos UK and commissioned by Earth4All and the Global Commons Alliance and polled respondents in 18 G20+ countries, excluding Russia.
The survey of 22 000 respondents, “captures growing concern” about the state of nature, awareness of planetary tipping points, and the demand for stronger environmental protections to safeguard the planet for future generations, according to Earth4All and the Global Commons Alliance.
Of the 1 000 South Africans polled, 85% of them agree that it should be a criminal offence for leaders of large businesses or senior government officials to approve or permit actions they know are likely to cause damage to nature and climate that is widespread, long-term or cannot be reversed.
G20 countries represent about 85% of the global GDP, 78% of greenhouse gas emissions, more than 75% of global trade, and about two-thirds of the world population.
The organisations said the research follows recent landmark legislative changes, including in Belgium where ecocide — destruction of the natural habitat — was recognised as a federal crime earlier this year. Related laws have also been passed in Chile and France while ecocide bills have been proposed in Brazil, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, Peru and Scotland, among others.
The survey included respondents from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, plus four countries outside the G20: Austria, Denmark, Kenya, and Sweden.
Among the respondents, 59% are very or extremely worried about the state of nature today — a slight increase from the 2021 Global Commons Survey. In addition, 69% agree that Earth is nearing tipping points related to climate and nature because of human activities.
The survey categorised respondents into five “planetary stewardship segments”, showing that “steady progressives”, “concerned optimists”, and “planetary stewards” groups advocating for strong action to protect the environment make up the majority (61%) of people across the G20 countries surveyed.
“This marks a social tipping point, with more people now demanding action to protect the planet than those who do not,” the organisations said.
Gender disparities, emerging economies
Gender disparities in concern for the environment were exposed too. Sixty-two percent of women are extremely or very worried about the state of nature today, compared with 56% of men. The survey found that 74% of women believe that major action to address environmental issues should be taken within the next decade, compared with 68% of men.
Only 25% of women believe that many claims about environmental risks are exaggerated while 33% of men do. Women are also significantly less likely to believe technology can solve environmental problems without individuals having to make big lifestyle changes (35% compared with 44% of men).
The results showed that people in emerging economies such as India (87%), China (79%), Indonesia (79%), Kenya (73%) and Turkey (69%) feel more personally exposed to climate change compared with those in Europe and the United States.
Those who perceive themselves as highly exposed to environmental and climate-related risks also show the highest levels of concern and urgency regarding climate action. This group is most likely to link human and planetary health and see benefits in addressing environmental issues.
“We found that the idea of planetary stewardship is strongest in emerging economies like Brazil, Argentina, South Africa, and Kenya,” said Owen Gaffney, co-lead of the Earth4All initiative.
Findings from South Africa
On the question of whether the government is doing enough to tackle climate change and environmental damage, only 24% of the South Africans surveyed agreed.
Meanwhile, 61% agreed that nature can meet the needs of humans right now while 54% said that nature is already too damaged to continue meeting human needs in the long-term.
Just over half of the local respondents agreed that technology can solve environmental problems without individuals having to make changes in their lives. Seventy percent of local respondents agreed that addressing climate change and environmental damage can “bring many benefits” to South Africa.
Seventy-seven percent agreed that because of human activities, the Earth is close to environmental tipping points where rainforests or glaciers may change suddenly or be more difficult to stabilise in the long term. A further 67% agreed that the costs of damages caused by environmental pollution are much higher than the costs of the investments needed for a green transition.
But 31% believed that many of the claims about environmental threats are exaggerated.
On the question of “thinking about climate change and protecting nature, how quickly do you think the world needs to take major action to reduce carbon emissions from electricity, transport, food, industry and buildings”, 83% of surveyed South Africans felt that action was needed within the next decade.
Eleven percent of South Africans believed that action was needed within the next 20 to 30 years, 3% felt that action could be delayed by more than 30 years and 1% thought that no action would ever be required.