Our World in Data [OWD] reports that a 2024 study in Nature Climate Change asked around 130,000 people if they’d be willing to give at least 1% of their income to tackle climate change, and that, across a 125-country sample, 69% said “yes”. The study then asked people what proportion of others in their country would likely say “yes” to the same question. The average across countries was 43%. OWD said that this shows that most of us systematically underestimate how widespread support for climate action is, in every country surveyed. Well, maybe. It might also show that we take a generous view of our own comparative generosity and associated saintliness. The article asked why this “perception gap” exists, and details of its analysis are here.
The OWD authors note: "We should always be cautious when examining people’s claims that they are willing to pay. Saying you’ll give up some of your income is not the same as actually doing it." Indeed.
And might it matter to whom it was given? I'd say so. Giving £100, say, to your local wildlife trust is one thing; Gifting it to a government agency such as DEFRA, quite another. And whilst neither could offer any sort of guarantee of absolute effectiveness, I'd say that giving it to an on-the-ground outfit such as a wildlife trust offers the greater probability. The reality, of course, is that we all give money to DEFRA every day through our taxes, but not to wildlife trusts.
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Reference
Andre, P., Boneva, T., Chopra, F., & Falk, A. (2024). Globally representative evidence on the actual and perceived support for climate action. Nature Climate Change, 1-7.
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