Climate Change Public Perception Survey 2019

More Singaporeans aware of climate change and are prepared to do more

The National Climate Change Secretariat (NCCS), under the Strategy Group, Prime Minister’s Office, conducted a survey from May to July 2019 to gauge public perception and views on climate change. About 1,000 Singapore residents aged 15 and above were interviewed face-to-face for their views. This survey has been conducted by the Government once every two years since 2011.

The survey found that over 90 per cent of Singapore residents are aware of climate change and its impact; and close to 80 per cent are prepared to do more to fight climate change. Key findings from the 2019 survey are:

a) Higher public awareness of climate change and its impact:

• More than 9 in 10 (94.9 per cent) have heard of, read, or come across the terms “Climate Change” and “Global Warming”, up from 89.5 per cent in 2017 and 80.6 per cent in 2015.

• Most respondents are also aware of the impact of climate change, such as disrupting ecosystems (95.3 per cent), increased vulnerability to heat stress and diseases (93.7 per cent), and problems caused by rising sea levels (93.4 per cent).

b) Strong support for Singapore to shift to low carbon economy:

• More than 9 in 10 (95.4 per cent) support Singapore making a shift to a low carbon economy.

• About 8 in 10 (78.2 per cent) are prepared to play their part towards a low carbon Singapore, even if they are expected to bear some additional costs and inconvenience as consumers.

c) More individuals are taking climate-friendly actions. Most are motivated to preserve a liveable world for future generations:

• More than 6 in 10 (60.9 per cent) strongly believe that individual action makes a difference in fighting climate change.

• More respondents are taking climate-friendly actions such as conserving water (90.7 per cent, up from 85.8 per cent in 2017), reducing food wastage and tracking food expiration (79.7 per cent, up from 77.6 per cent in 2017), and switching off electrical appliances at the wall socket (91 per cent, same as 2017).

• “Preserving a liveable world for future generations” is respondents’ top reason to perform climate-friendly actions.

• More than 8 in 10 (84.8 per cent) strongly believe that climate change is already happening and will affect our future generations if we do nothing. However, only about half of them (48.3 per cent) know what to do to help address climate change.

d) Collective action is needed: Respondents believe that Government, Businesses and Individuals all have a part to play in tackling climate change. Respondents also view Community Groups and Non-governmental Organisations as having a part to play in tackling climate change.

Addressing climate change is a whole-of-society effort, and requires the Government, Businesses, the Community and Individuals to work together. The Government will continue to encourage collective climate action, and work closely with businesses and citizens to co-create solutions to build a resilient and sustainable Singapore.

Details of findings can be found in this infographic (1.21mb).