Indians, Bangladeshis trust climate science most amid increasing climate scepticism

Most people in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan have confidence in climate science, while the least number of people in Russia, Japan, and Ukraine trust it, showed a new survey.

The survey published by the World Economic Forum (WEF), on Tuesday, at its 50th annual meeting called for better climate education and urgent upskilling.

The survey found that 86 percent Indians trusted scientists "a lot".

India was followed by Bangladesh (78 percent) and Pakistan (70 percent). Whereas China and Turkey (both 69 percent) are among the top five countries in the list.

Meanwhile, around 18 percent of North American adults expressed "little" or "no" trust in climate science, compared to 6 percent South Asians.

Trust in climate science is largely similar to 2019 levels, but some regions showed slight declines in number. 

The global public overwhelmingly blamed global warming on human activity, with some regions less trusting of climate science in 2020, said the survey.

India topped the list where the highest percentage of people – 77 percent – closely followed the news and current events.

Bangladesh held the sixth position with 62 percent people following the news seriously. Whereas Russia, Japan, and Ukraine hit the rock bottom. 

The survey also found: a majority of people in the world believe schools are under-preparing students for jobs. Outside the Americas and South Asia, education is still viewed as a privilege for half of the population. 

The findings reinforce the urgent need for a collective approach from business, government and civil society to advance societal and environmental agendas.

According to the report "Toward a More Cohesive World", outside the Americas and South Asia, majorities believe a "good education" is the privilege of half of the population or less.

Respondents also believe local schools are underperforming when it comes to training students for the future.

A key focus for the WEF's 50th annual meeting this week will be driving change to reskill and upskill the global population for future jobs.

Researchers found that education systems have "become increasingly disconnected from the realities and needs of global economies and societies".

The survey, prepared in collaboration with SAP and Qualtrics, surveyed more than 10,500 people in 30 countries, accounting for around 76 per cent of the global population.

"It's the people of this world who can help bring this focus to the areas of greatest urgency. Giving them a voice and acting on their feedback is an important duty of every leader from every corner of the globe," said SAP co-chief executive officers Jennifer Morgan and Christian Klein.

A specific platform focused on upskilling and reskilling will be launched at this week's annual meeting. 

The initiative will create a more cohesive world by providing one billion people with new, more relevant skills for accessing decent jobs within the next 10 years.