Key opinion surveys across Africa show that many people are primarily responsible for climate action against national governments. The continent is relatively little contributing to global emissions, but has endured some of the worst effects of climate change.
The survey was conducted by a glove team of researchers between 2021 and 2023 and covers 39 countries and over 50,000 people. It was published this week in the Communications Earth and Environment Journal.
The author focused on 26,735 respondents who said they had heard of climate change. They were asked who should be responsible for limiting it and reducing its effectiveness.
Almost half -45% – said their central government should take the lead. Only 13% have been nominated to a wealthy country, but only 8% refer to companies and industries.
“There is clearly hope among many respondents who want to see the government take more action to protect them and address the issue of climate change,” said Talbot M Andrews, a political scientist at Cornell University, the study co-author, told RFI.
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Amazing results
The view that the government should take the lead was particularly common in West Africa. Nearly three out of four responded to this in Nigeria, Liberia and Niger.
“It was amazing to see that many people have so much responsibility to their government, that is, there is little responsibility that comes from industrialists and wealthy countries, that is, historic emancipators,” Andrews said.
Africa contributes little to global warming, but only 3% of its historic CO2 emissions since 1750, the group is one of the most exposed people to its effects. The US alone accounts for almost a quarter of emissions.
Approximately 30% of those surveyed said that ordinary people in their countries should be the most responsible for dealing with climate change. This view was most common in Uganda, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Madagascar and Zambia.
Four small island states – Cape Verde, Mauritius, Seychelles, Sain Meh and Principe were among the countries where respondents were most likely to name historical polluters.
Researchers suggested that this may reflect greater concerns about sea level rise.
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Educational factors
The authors also found that respondents with high levels of education or better access to the media are more likely to condemn developed countries.
“We believe that the responsibility has been shifted to historic emitters due to reduced poverty and improved access to the media among respondents,” Andrews said.
The way the survey questions were expressed may have shaped how people responded, Andrews added. They were thinking about mitigation, addressing the cause – or adaptation focusing on dealing with effects was not clear.
Furthermore, given the vulnerability to climate risks that many Africans have, she said, it makes sense for them to prioritize local protection over identifying global causes.
“It’s understandable to see them want their government to protect them from these effects here. It’s not just thinking about the causes of climate change.”
This story was attached from the original French version by Juliette Pietraszewski of RFI
