India most distrusted country when it comes to climate change: Report

When it comes to climate, businesses are less trusted than government and NGOs, as per the Edelman Trust Barometer Special Report: Trust and Climate Change.

The survey which was done in 14 countries and had 13,986 respondents further revealed that 93 percent people believe that climate change poses a serious and eminent threat to the planet. Out of the 98 percent respondents in India, 67 percent believe the same as well. Journalists, government leaders, and chief executive officers rank the lowest when it comes to trusting experts on the issue of climate change.

India is the most distrusted country when it comes to climate change; Canada is the most trusted one. 65 percent of businesses are not doing well at living up to their climate change commitments. The top three reasons include focus on short term profit, pretending to care and leaders fearing backlash.

Globally, 72 percent believe that climate change will make life extremely difficult and unpleasant for them and their family. For 45 percent of respondents, their health or that of their family has gotten worse due to climate change. 71 percent said that the weather where they live has gotten more extreme over the past few years.

Amongst the 77 percent worried about climate change, 55 percent are climate pessimists and 22 percent are climate optimists. 35 percent believe government is doing well on balancing climate needs with reliable and affordable energy; 34 percent believe that the government is doing well on balancing climate solutions with economic recovery and growth.

Across developed countries, 39 percent believe that international treaties like the Paris Agreement will be essential to tackle climate change. Factors like the cost being too high, lack of information on products and solutions, lack of institutional support and unavailability of climate friendly solutions are coming in the way of people wanting to lead a climate friendly lifestyle.