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Global conversation on climate change suggests Canadians expect more from national effort to tackle

June 9, 2015, Waterloo, Ont. – A sweeping citizen consultation suggests more than 80 per cent of
Canadians asked feel climate change is not a national priority but it
should be, compared to nearly 60 per cent of citizens in the other G7
countries.

June 9, 2015, Waterloo, Ont. – A sweeping citizen consultation suggests more than 80 per cent of
Canadians asked feel climate change is not a national priority but it
should be, compared to nearly 60 per cent of citizens in the other G7
countries.
 
The results emerge from the World Wide Views on Climate and Energy, beginning at dawn on
Saturday, June 6, in the Pacific Islands and ending at dusk in the West
Coast of the United States, more than 10,000 people from 79 countries
spanning five continents came together to discuss and vote on issues
related to climate change and energy, said the University of Waterloo, which helped organize Ontario's participation, in a news release.
 
In general, answers from Canadians surveyed aligned with those of people
all over the world. However, when compared to its G7 counterparts, some
results from Canada stand out.
 
Canadians are less inclined to do whatever it takes to stop climate
change. When asked if “the world should take ambitious action, but not
whatever it takes,” only 20 per cent of G7 respondents agreed compared
to 32 per cent of Canadians.

There was also a split between Canadians and citizens in other G7
countries about who is responsible for tackling climate change.
Participants in G7 countries felt more strongly (12 per cent) that
tackling climate change was a global responsibility. The Canadian
results also reveal that we’re seven per cent more likely to believe
that tackling climate change is primarily the responsibility of national
governments.
 
The University of Waterloo, with support from the Balsillie School of
International Affairs, organized Ontario’s participation in the
ambitious project. 107 citizens from the Region of Waterloo debated and
answered more than 30 specific questions on five key themes related to
climate change and energy.
 
“Canadians are asking their governments and each other to do more on
tackling climate change,” said David McLaughlin, strategic advisor on
sustainability in the Faculty of Environment, in the release. “There is a growing
consensus amongst Canadians that the world and Canada need to act more
to tackle climate change. The results are clear. Canadians want climate
change to be more of a priority for Canada than it is.”
 
All results and tools for comparing different countries, regions and politically organized states are all available on the World Wide Views website .