People in China, India and other emerging economies in Asia are more optimistic than developed nations that climate change can be halted, an international survey by HSBC Holdings Plc shows.
Thirty-three percent of respondents from Vietnam, 32 percent from India and 29 percent from China believe that climate change can be stopped, according to the ‘HSBC Climate Confidence Monitor,’ which surveyed 15,000 people across 15 markets. This compares with 9 percent in the U.S. and 8 percent in Australia, the bank said in an e-mailed statement today.
Abatement initiatives funded by governments are seen as the most effective policies to tackle climate change, when compared with a carbon tax or emissions trading, the survey shows. It covered France, Germany, Hong Kong, Canada, Singapore, the U.K., Australia, Brazil, Mexico, China, the U.S., Japan, Malaysia, India and Vietnam.
Australia in April shelved climate change laws until after 2012 amid lawmaker opposition and a lack of action by other countries. Prime Minister Julia Gillard has established a multiparty committee to study options for introducing a price on carbon, including a market-based emissions-trading system, a tax or a “hybrid” of both.
“The climate business sector is growing fast and emerging markets are leading the way,” said Paul Maia, Sydney-based chief executive officer of HSBC Bank Australia. “Australia also has a role to play.”
One in 10 Australians is confident their leaders are addressing climate change, compared with a global average of 19 percent, the survey shows. Twenty-seven percent of Australians surveyed said they are making a personal effort to reduce climate change, down from 29 percent a year ago, and compared with 64 percent of Chinese respondents.
