Two-thirds of voters say the Turnbull government is doing "not very much" or "nothing at all" to combat climate change.
And they are not alone – exclusive international polling for Fairfax Media shows a similar proportion in 22 other nations think their governments are doing little or nothing to address global warming.
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| Damselfish in a degraded habitat in the northern part of the Great Barrier Reef Photo: Supplied |
In Australia, just 4 per cent said the government was doing "a great deal" to address climate change and 19 per cent said it was doing "a fair amount." But more than half (52 per cent) said the government was doing not very much and 14 per cent nothing at all.
The results were consistent across Australian age groups and income groups although those living in cities were a little more likely to say the government was doing a fair amount to address climate change than those in regional areas.
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| Photo: Jessica Shapiro |
"The majority of us buy the argument that climate change is having a serious impact on our natural environment and our weather systems," said Ipsos director, Jessica Elgood.
There is less voter consensus about the scope of climate change policies with 32 per cent saying the government should take whatever actions necessary even if it harms economic growth versus 34 per cent saying climate change action should not harm growth. Only 6 per cent think governments should take no action at all.
"Most of us think something has to be done, the question is the scale of that response," Ms Elgood said.
Labor has attacked Malcolm Turnbull over claims he has watered down his personal commitment to strong action on climate change since becoming Prime Minister to appease the right wing of his party.
The Turnbull government has adopted a target set while Tony Abbott was Prime Minister to reduce carbon emissions by up to 28 per cent by 2020, based on 2005 figures. Environmental groups have criticised this for being too modest. Labor has announced a far more ambitious emissions reduction target but Mr Turnbull says it will result in "much higher" electricity prices for consumers.
The international survey of more than 16,500 people across 23 countries for Fairfax by the Ipsos Global @dvisor, found half of all respondents believed their national government was doing "not very much" to address climate change and another fifth said their government was doing "nothing at all" about it. Only 5 per cent of the international sample thought their government was doing "a great deal", while 19 per cent said "a fair amount" was being done.
Peru had the highest proportion saying the government was doing little or nothing (93 per cent) followed by Mexico and Spain (both 88 per cent).
In the US 54 per cent said the government was doing not very much or nothing at to combat climate change compared with 38 per cent who said a great deal or a fair amount was being done.
Only two countries of the 23 had a majority who said their government was doing a great deal or a fair amount about climate change - Saudi Arabia and India.
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