Newsletter 4, Australia
Go here to get photos,a pdf snapshot of the Australian results, a press release and a link to the global site where all countries responses are comparable in one big, user-friendly database.
Australian results of WWViews
Highlights that may surprise you from our group of 100 randomly-selected Aussies:
* A full 99% said there should be reduction targets for Annex 1 countries for the short term.
* 89% said the targets should be 25% or higher, significantly more than what many countries have on the table.
* (92%) think that a global climate deal is urgent and should be made at COP15 in December 2009. If it happens, 94% believe Australian politicians should give high priority to joining it.
* Two-thirds believe countries that do not meet their commitments under a new climate deal be subjected to “severe” or “significant” punishment.
* 74 % say the price of fossil fuels should be increased to deal with climate change.
On the day, Australia was the first country to come on-line, because of our time zone. The group of 100 were selected completely at random and brought to Australia from all States and territories – as far afield as Humpty Doo, Broome, Launceston, Cairns and Kapunda.
The top line recommendation from the group for Australia’s climate negotiators going to Copenhagen was:
“Australia should act now to limit warming below 2 degrees C through a legally binding global agreement. Develop new technology in an ethical and accountable process. The need for leadership, education and technical advances is paramount.”
Global results of World Wide Views
During the day, over 4,000 citizens in 38 countries around the world deliberated on climate policy, using the same process, information materials and sets of questions. In countries as diverse as Canada, China, Uganda, Indonesia, and Chile, citizens with different backgrounds and in all ages discussed how politicians should handle global warming.
Around the world, 90% of over 4,000 participants think that climate change is urgent and a deal should be made at COP15. 82% think that emissions targets should be 25% or higher, with a large chunk sitting at over 40% cuts.
Use our data
We’ve attached a snapshot of the Australian event, but of course a more detailed report will be coming out soon. Please, use our resources in your own communications. We think these are very powerful statistics and the questions were quite deep topics of global significance.
Links
The Australian website results page: press release and the snapshot is downloadable
The global website (click through to results database for comparative data between any of the 38 participating countries)
Photos, video and audio around the word (click on the grey bars for more menus to appear)
FAQ’s about the process: see here for information such as what kind of process was this, why is it different from a poll?
