According to almost two-thirds of Australians, climate change is a “critical threat” to Australia’s interests, ranked as more serious than international terrorism, North Korea’s nuclear program or cyber attacks from other countries.
This is the first time climate change has led the list of potential threats in the long-running Lowy Institute poll since the question was first included in 2006.
The poll also confirmed Australians were more concerned about climate change this election than at any time since Kevin Rudd was elected as Labor Party Prime Minister in 2007, when both major parties proposed an Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).
The poll was conducted between March 12 and 15, both over the phone and online.
It drew the results from a nationally representative sample of 2130 Australian adults and had a margin of error of about two per cent.
This year 61 per cent of voters said climate change was so serious and pressing we should address it now, even if doing so was expensive.
That is a 25-percentage point jump since 2012 and the highest number since 2006.
However, responses to that question showed stark differences between generations.
Among Australians aged 18 to 29, 81 per cent thought action should be taken on climate change, even if it was expensive.
However, less than half, 49 per cent, of those aged over 45 took the same view.
Natasha Kassam from the Lowy Institute said that finding was important.
“I think that’s particularly significant at the moment when you see school strikes and the attention that they’ve been attracting,” she said.
Only 28 per cent of people said climate change should be dealt with gradually, and 10 per cent said we should not act on climate change until we are “sure it’s a problem”, the lowest numbers since 2006 and 2008, respectively.
The results follow those from the ABC News’ Vote Compass, which found the environment more broadly, was the most important issue for voters.
A massive 29 per cent of respondents said the environment was the number one issue for them this election, a jump from just 9 per cent last election.
It also follows a United Nations-backed report authored by hundreds of leading scientists that warned life on Earth was being put at risk by human activities, and called for stronger action to protect the environment, including action on climate change.
In newspaper interviews after the release of the report, conservative Liberal Party Prime Minister Scott Morrison reiterated the Liberal-National coalition’s opposition to stronger environmental regulations, saying “green tape” could “tie up businesses” and cost jobs.
The LNP’s climate policies include keeping Australia’s current emissions targets, which experts say are not compatible with the UN sponsored Paris Agreement to stop global warming.
It has also proposed paying for a range of individual projects through the Climate Solutions Fund, as well as the pumped hydro project Snowy 2.0 and more pumped hydropower in Tasmania.
The opposition Labor Party has proposed increasing Australia’s emissions target to 45 per cent and implementing a range of policies to bring down emissions from electricity generators, transport and the land sector.
Labor has also said it would establish a new federal Environment Protection Authority and rewrite Australia’s environment laws to “compel the federal government to actively protect” the environment.
The Lowy Institute Poll found 59 per cent of people thought Labor would do a better job of managing Australia’s response to climate change than the Liberal-National coalition.
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WE’RE BUILDING A PLATFORM WITH A CLEAR FOCUS ON THE ENVIRONMENT, CULTURAL AND SOCIAL GOOD. CONTRIBUTE AND TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE AN IMPACT.
