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A hashtag created by climate activists in order to raise awareness about the climate crisis during the prolonged monsoon season last year

In the largest-ever public opinion poll on climate change conducted by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), two-thirds of the respondents believed climate change to be a “global emergency” and want emergency action to resolve the issue.

The UNDP released the results of the poll, called the People’s Climate Vote, on Jan. 26. The poll was conducted on 1.2 million people around the world, including 500,000 young people.

The UNDP and Oxford University, which jointly conducted the poll, reported that 64% of respondents regard climate change as a global emergency. Strong majorities agreed about the severity of climate change not only in teenagers aged 14-18 (69%) but also among those aged 19-35 (65%), 39-59 (66%) and 60 and above (58%).

Graph depicting the geographical divisions amongst those who believe climate crisis to be a serious concern

The UNDP reported that 59% of people who think climate change is a global emergency said the world should act urgently and do everything necessary to solve this issue. In contrast, just 10% said that the world is already doing enough, while 20% believed that the world should solve this problem slowly.

Graph depicting the answers to the question “Does climate change require emergency measures?” 59% of the respondents said urgent actions are required.

When asked what policies should be taken to address climate change (with multiple choices allowed), the most popular were as follows: conservation of forests and land (54%), solar, wind and renewable power (53%), climate-friendly farming techniques (52%) and investing more in green businesses and jobs (50%).

“Recognition of the climate emergency is much more widespread than previously thought,” said Stephen Fisher, a professor at Oxford University who worked on the survey.

By Park Ki-yong, staff reporter

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