Younger Moroccans are more alarmed by climate change and consider it a serious, global emergency.
Agadir – A recent survey by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) showed that the majority of Moroccans believe that climate change requires urgent action to alleviate its severity.
The results of the study showed that 68% of Moroccans believe in climate change, while 52% indicated the necessity of undertaking urgent measures to mitigate its consequences.
Also suggested in the survey is that young Moroccans are the country’s most climate-conscious. Of those surveyed, 69% of the respondents aged under 18 said they believe the climate crisis is a global emergency and requires serious measures.
UNDP’s findings place Morocco in a shared 10th place with Georgia when it comes to concern over climate change. 65% of respondents from both the US and Algeria indicated their belief in climate change.
Over 1.2 million respondents from across 50 countries, covering approximately 56% of the world’s population, participated in the study. It is the “largest survey of public opinion on climate change ever conducted,” according to the UNDP.
Read also: Climate Change Performance Index: Morocco 4th Best Country Worldwide
Looking at specific climate change policies, the survey showed that very few people across the world did not “support any of the 18 policies on offer.” In Morocco that figure stood at 3%. The countries with the greatest number of people not supporting any of the climate policies were Pakistan (5%) and the United States (4%).
In terms of support for specific policies, Morocco, as part of the “Arab States,” was grouped with such countries as Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, and Tunisia.
For the Arab states, the policies that enjoyed the greatest support were the use of climate-friendly farming techniques and the use of renewable energy, which both stood at 48%.
Of those surveyed, 47% supported the conservation of forests and land. Following was the support for the use of more electric cars and buses and greater investment in green businesses, which both sat at 44%.
The analysis of socio-demographic information provided by respondents lead to some interesting observations. According to the study, the clearest socio-demographic indicator of belief in climate change was a person’s educational background.
Age was another determining factor. Overall, the study established that, when compared to other age groups, people under 18 are more likely to believe that climate change is a global emergency.
