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Social Research Digest – June 2012

Summary

The survey, conducted in collaboration with National Geographic, is part of a series of initiatives by The Regeneration Project in the lead up to Rio+20, a cross-sectoral collaboration that aims to accelerate progress in the transition to sustainable development. It polled approx 1,000 adult consumers per country in 17 countries between March 2012 and May 2012.

Key Findings

• 55% of people worldwide want their government to “play a leadership role in making ambitious international commitments to reduce global poverty in ways that improve the environment”.
• A further 40% want their government to support moderate international commitments to the same end.
• The findings put pressure on summit negotiators to deliver an outcome that will satisfy constituents at home.
• Consumers in Latin America are particularly demanding of their governments at the conference, with strong majorities in Mexico (80%), Brazil (74%)—the summit’s host—and Argentina (67%) calling for ambitious leadership positions at the conference.
• Indians (63%) are the next most likely to want their delegates to take ambitious action at the Rio+20 Summit followed by Canadians (58%).
• Half of American and Chinese consumers (51% each) call for their governments to provide ambitious leadership at the conference.
• Germans are the least likely of those in the 17 countries surveyed to support a leadership position by their government at the conference (43%).
• Perhaps the most compelling finding of the survey is that so few people—only 5 percent globally–want their countries to avoid committing to any international agreements at the summit.
• Americans are the most inclined to prefer that their government makes no international commitment, at 11%.
• The poll is a strong endorsement of the view that international agreements are needed to resolve international sustainable development challenges.

Author(s)

The Regeneration Project and National Geographic

Source

PDF report

Tags: consumers, global, National Geographic, sustainable development, The Regeneration Project