The Asahi Glass Foundation, chaired by Takuya Shimamura, conducted an online survey of 13,332 people in Japan and 24 other countries, with 6,585 participants aged 18-24, and 6,747 participants aged 25-69. Its goal was to assess awareness on environmental issues.
What were the findings of the study?
Supervised by Professor Norichika Kanie of Keio University. Its main findings were as follows:
Climate change major concern
Overall, research participants rated Climate Change as the most pressing environmental issue in the country or region where they reside. In addition, many of participants expressed concern over abnormal weather conditions. The number two issue was “Society, Economy and Environment, Policies, Measures,” and the number three issue was “Water Resources.”
Research participants rated Japan, the Unites States and Australia as the top three countries making progress in terms of public awareness and action on environmental issues. The reasons given for selecting Japan included “cutting-edge technology” and “cleanliness.”
Awareness of SDGs
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) that participants thought will have the highest level of realization by 2030 were “No Poverty” (1st), “Good Health and Wellbeing” (2nd), and “Zero Hunger” (3rd). The SDGs that participants thought would have the lowest level of realization were “No Poverty” (1st), “Zero Hunger” (2nd), and “Quality Education” (3rd).
Opinions were split on whether poverty can be eradicated, even among people from the same country, with developed nations giving more pessimistic answers. Around 30% hadn’t heard of the SDGs. 18-24-year-olds had a slightly higher awareness than 25-69-year-olds.
Respondents fairly concerned
When showing environmental crisis awareness time on a clock, from 0:01 to 12:00, participants of all age brackets averaged out at 7:25, meaning “fairly concerned.”
Ages 18 to 24-years averaged out slightly lower at 7:11, while 25-69-year-olds were at 7:27, meaning they were slightly more concerned. The average time given by global environmental experts was two hours ahead of the general public, at 9:35, “extremely concerned.” But both experts and the general public expressed a sense of crisis.
