The results of HSBC Holdings PLC's fourth Climate Confidence Monitor reveal that climate change is one of the top-three concerns globally.
Two-thirds (64%) of respondents in China claimed to be making a significant effort to help reduce climate change, compared to 23% in the U.K., 20% in the U.S. and 11% in Japan. One in three people in Vietnam, India and China believe climate change can be halted, compared to just one in 20 in France and the U.K.
People's opinions about business opportunities and economic prospects presented by climate change were more positive, according to the report. Over half of respondents in Brazil, India and Malaysia strongly agreed their country would prosper and new jobs would be created by responding to climate change. The U.K. and the U.S. were slightly less optimistic, with one-third of people thinking economic opportunities and new jobs could be created.
‘Strong national and global policies that provide incentives for investment in clean technology, that price fossil fuels in ways that reflect their true economic and social costs, and that assist consumers in using energy more efficiently have the potential to unleash a significant pool of investment that can serve as a powerful engine for a new era of economic growth,’ says Nicholas Stern, special adviser to HSBC's group chairman on economic development and climate change.
SOURCE: HSBC Holdings PLC
