Forget New York, London or Hong Kong. Here are seven cities that are racing up the rankings of the world’s richest, and will be among the top 10 by 2025, according to researchers from the McKinsey Global Institute.
Doha, Qatar
Doha, Qatar
Qatar’s Doha is predicted to be one of the rising stars in terms of per capita GDP. The country is already among the richest in the world, and huge investments ahead of the 2022 Soccer World Cup are set to give it extra boost.
Bergen, Norway
Bergen, Norway
Bergen is the second most populous city in Norway.
It is already at the forefront of the country’s economy, but McKinsey’s researchers predict it will rise to become one of the richest cities globally. It serves as the hub for Norway’s energy industry, shipping, and marine research.
Trondheim, Norway
Trondheim, Norway
Another Norwegian city on the list, Trondheim is the birthplace of mobile tech. It is where the GSM standard was invented in the 1980s.
Since then, the local tech scene has been booming, and now boasts over 550 startups with more than 10,000 employees, according to officials.
Hwaseong, South Korea
Hwaseong, South Korea
Hwaseong, although not widely known outside South Korea, is a booming city south of Seoul. It’s home to the global research facilities of Hyundai (HYMTF) and Samsung (SSNLF), as well as flagship plants for Kia and LG Electronics.
The city is investing heavily in new residential real estate in the super modern Dongtan district.
Asan, South Korea
Asan, South Korea
Like its neighbour Hwaseong, Asan is home to several large industrial complexes.
It also benefits from being near the port of Pyeongtaek, which is the closest port to east China, and a global shipping hub.
Rhine-Ruhr, Germany
Rhine-Ruhr, Germany
Rhine-Ruhr is already one of the most successful urban areas in Germany. It’s the third largest in Europe, trailing only Paris and London.
Many powerhouses of German industry and finance are based in the region, including 12 Fortune 500 companies.
Macau, China
Macau, China
Macau is an example of how quickly things can change. Tipped to become one of the 10 richest cities in the world by 2025, Macau suffered a huge recession at the end of last year.
Its economy slumped 17% after an anti-corruption drive hurt Macau’s casinos, the main driver of the territory’s economy. Growth is expected to return next year, but experts say Macau must find other sources of income to recover its momentum.
The ranking is based on GDP per capita. McKinsey’s top 10 cities by 2025 also include Oslo (Norway), Yosu (South Korea) and San Jose (California).
Against the backdrop of the reaction of a member of the Ekiti State Branch of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) to pronouncement made by the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) over the root cause of a recent road crash, the FRSC has said that it stands by its statement as, according to the Corps, it is credible.
Scene of the crash
Following the crash, which claimed the lives of six medical doctors and a driver, the FRSC attributed the cause of the accident to over speeding. But, a member of the NMA, Dr. Ekundare Folu and a colleague, in a newspaper publication, described FRSC’s claims as unfounded, a submission that has apparently not gone down well with the Corps, which on Thursday attempted “to clear the air and put the facts straight.”
Head, Media Relations and Strategy of the Corps, Bisi Kazeem, while conveying FRSC’s “sincere condolence to the families and friends of the victims of the road crash,” noted that pronouncement made by the Corps on any crash is always based on technical investigation carried out by a unit of safety engineers domiciled in every Command of the FRSC spread nationwide.
His words: “Under the present circumstances, it is unfair for Dr Ekundare to describe the genuine intent of the Corps to establish the remote and immediate causes of the fatal crash, in partial fulfilment of its statutory mandate, as ‘distasteful and derogatory given the helplessness of the victims at the scene of the accident’.”
In a statement released on Thursday, Kazeem explained further: “As the nation’s lead agency on road safety management and traffic administration, the onus lies on the FRSC to immediately investigate any road traffic crash and come up with recommendations which could assist in forestalling future occurrence. It will be recalled that the Corps has undertaken similar exercise after previous road traffic crashes such as the recent fatal crash which claimed the lives of former Minister of State for Labour and members of his family, Mr. James Ocholi.
“Findings from the same fatal crash also threw up the need for the Nigerian motoring public to strictly adhere to road traffic regulations bordering on compulsory use of rear seat belts by occupants of a moving vehicle, in line with the National Road Traffic Regulations, 2016.
“This investigation, which is in line contemporary global standards, seeks to establish some factors such as mechanical status of the vehicle, tyres, road condition and, possibly, the psychological state of the driver prior to the auto crash.
“It is also unfair to assert that the Corps’ operatives arrive late at the scene of the road crash but were also reluctant to take the victims to the hospital. The Corps has always lived up to its resolve to prioritise rescue operations in the event of a road crash. It is also on record that the FRSC has, through its Call Centre, maintained seamless interface with road users and has reduced its response time to road crashes and other traffic-related matters to 15 minutes.
“For avoidance of doubt, our nearest Unit Command to the scene of the crash, Katari Unit, got a distress call about the fatal auto crash on 24th April 2016 at 16.32 hrs ( 6.32pm) and our rescue team from Katari arrived the scene at exactly 16.42hrs (6.42pm), thus our men arrived there 10 minutes after the crash and was supported by another team at Doka to assist in taking the victims (dead and injured) to St. Gerald Hospital in Kaduna where the Kaduna State Sector Command immediately took over the matter.
“The Kaduna State Sector Commander, Corps Commander Francis Ugboma, also visited the hospital to monitor the status of the injured victims and condole with the bereaved. It was at the hospital that the Sector Commander put a call through to the FRSC Corps Marshal who also spoke to Dr. Akinbote, the Chairman of Ekiti State NMA, and commiserated with the NMA and bereaved families.
“From the words of Dr Ekundare, he was consistently monitoring the acceleration of the driver whenever he hits 110km/hr, ‘I was in the same vehicle, sitting in the row behind the driver and I checked the speedometer from time to time. The bus also makes a beeping sound once the speed exceeds 110km/hr. Let me state categorically that the bus driver was not speeding.’ It is rather unfortunate for him to conclude that a bus which was consistently exceeding the recommended 90km/hr, was not on a high speed.
“Much as we do not wish to join issues with Dr Ekundayo on his submissions, it is instructive to disclose at this juncture that our investigations revealed that while the vehicle was in motion, the right rear tyre which was a Bridgestone brand manufactured in 2008, blew up, indicating that the tyre which has expired since 2012, was not roadworthy. The remaining two tyres were manufactured in 2014 while one tyre was churned out this year. It was also discovered that, out of the three tyres, one had patch marks. It is obvious that the driver’s acceleration rate constituted to excessive speeding, sudden tyre burst and somersault of the bus.
“In the same vein, we frown at Dr Ekundare’s assertion that the FRSC uses road crashes of this nature to further propagate its on-going initiative on the speed limiting device. It is already a global knowledge that speed limiting device plays vital role in reducing road traffic crashes associated with speed limit violation and this underscores the position of the United Nations on the need for concrete but decisive steps to be taken by member nations to address the menace of speed induced road traffic crashes as we march towards realising the UN decade of action on road safety 2011-2020.
“Disturbed by this unfortunate development, the FRSC Corps Marshal had after commiserating with the Ekiti State Executive Governor, convened a stakeholders summit on tyre with a commitment to re-launch a nationwide tyre awareness campaign as part of measures to reinvigorate public consciousness on the tyre care, routine checks, avoidance of tokunbo tyres and to organise training sessions for vulcanisers to further inject order and decorum in their activities.
“While we still commiserate with bereaved families, the NMA and the people of Ekiti State over the unfortunate incident, we wish to reiterate our commitment to enthrone safer road culture for the Nigerian motoring public.”
Emerging economies face as much as 10 per cent losses in working hours because of deteriorating thermal conditions in the workplace due to climate change, according to a new report released on Thursday.
Deteriorating thermal conditions in the workplace due to climate change is translating to dire consequences for developing economies
The estimated losses imply adverse consequences of a similar scale to economic output, or GDP, for a wide range of developing countries, including India, Indonesia and Nigeria, as highlighted by the report.
Strengthening current plans for greenhouse gas emission cuts under the Paris Agreement on climate change would, according to the study, significantly reduce the economic and public health impact of escalating workplace heat.
The findings were presented at International Labour Organisation (ILO) headquarters in Geneva, together with the 43-member Climate Vulnerable Forum, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), ILO, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), the International Organisation of Employers (IOE), UNI Global Union, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), ACT Alliance, and with the support of the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The release marked International Workers’ Memorial Day, with the report calling excessive workplace heat a well-known occupational health and productivity danger behind growing risks of heat exhaustion, heat stroke and, “in extreme cases”, death.
The joint study, “Climate Change and Labour: Impacts of Heat in the Workplace”, is based on updated research into labour-related effects for different economies exposed to increasingly extreme thermal conditions because of climate change.
More than one billion employees and their employers and communities in vulnerable countries already grapple with such severe heat in the workplace, the report finds, and the impact of climate change on labour is not being adequately accounted for by international and national climate or employment policies. For one country, the report found that reductions to total available working hours due to climate change had already reached an estimated four per cent by the 1990s, highlighting the current nature of the challenge.
Highly exposed zones include the Southern United States, Central America and the Caribbean, Northern South America, North and West Africa, South and South East Asia, according to the report. Especially vulnerable are Least Developed Countries, Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and emerging economies with high concentrations of outdoor labour and industrial and service sector workers operating in ineffectively climate-controlled conditions.
Even with the stronger 1.5-degree Celsius limit settled on under the Paris Agreement, key regions would face almost an entire month of extreme heat each year by 2030 (2010-2030), the report finds. Such heat reduces work productivity, increases the need for work breaks and elevates risks to health and occupational injuries-effects that also entail lower productive output on a “macro-scale” according to the study.
Speaking at the report’s launch, Cecelia Rebong, Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the UN, said the impact of heat in the workplace adds “another layer of vulnerability to developing countries already reeling from the adverse impacts of climate change.” The need to limit global warming was “urgent and critical,” she added.
According to the report, “when it is too hot, people work less effectively out-of-doors, in factories, the office or on the move due to diminished ability for physical exertion and for completing mental tasks.”
“Governments and international organisations have long put in place standards on thermal conditions in the workplace. But climate change has already altered thermal conditions,” and “additional warming is a serious challenge for any worker or employer reliant on outdoor or non-air conditioned work.” Levels of heat are already “very high” even for acclimatised populations, it noted.
Technical development of the joint report was based on research of the High Occupational Temperature Health and Productivity Suppression (Hothaps) programme of the Ruby Coast Research Centre, Mapua, New Zealand, led by Tord Kjellstrom.
Cecilia Rebong, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the United Nations: “Excessive heat puts exposed working populations at greater risk from heat-induced stresses and undermines growth by compromising productivity. Vulnerable groups need significant support to tackle rising heat in the workplace, but there are also limits and costs associated with adapting to the heat. All of these underscore the urgent and critical need to limit global warming to the minimum in accordance with the goals, including the 1.5° C goal, set out in the Paris Agreement that 175 nations signed only last week.”
Maria Luisa Silva, UNDP Geneva Director: “We embarked on this report to give recognition to this specific and serious concern, and to begin the conversation on how to respond and deal with it. The challenges have to be addressed by governments, employers, employees and other relevant international organisations if we want to be able to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.”
Philip Jennings, General Secretary of UNI Global Union: “Today on International Workers’ Memorial Day, we pay tribute to workers round the world who have lost their lives on the job. It’s often the poorest workers who pay the ultimate price. Workers who are being exposed to extreme heat need to have access to a cooling environment, shade, water, protective clothing and enough time for rest breaks. This is particularly true for people who do physical work, for example out in the fields, mines and factories. Imagine working in a shoe manufacturer in Vietnam or a clothing factory in Bangladesh when it is 35°C. Governments, and employers have to take this issue of the cauldron of a warming planet seriously and develop some effective policy responses and practical measures to protect workers. We know the challenges and we know what needs to be done to make it happen.”
Sharan Burrow, General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation: “A rise in temperature risks the health of workers and the productivity in work environments where the heat is debilitating – climate action is urgent to protect workers now and in the future. Climate change is real, and action to halt its devastating impact is in our hands.”
Saleemul Huq, Chair of the Expert Advisors Group to the Climate Vulnerable Forum and Director of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development: “It is the people of vulnerable countries like Bangladesh who stand to lose the most as the planet warms. Those who work in the fields may ruin their health just by trying to put a meal on the table. If we are to take sustainable development seriously, we have to scale up climate action across the board and fund real ways of adapting communities to these new everyday extremes.”
Moustapha Kamal Gueye, ILO Green Jobs Programme: “The findings of the report highlight the importance of occupational safety and health policies as important dimensions in the responses to climate change.”
John Nduna, ACT Alliance General Secretary: “Climate change impacts all aspects of society, therefore it is through partnership and joint collaboration among all actors, including civil society, that we will reach shared understandings of the issues to be addressed, and subsequently shared solutions.”
As BAT celebrates another year of profits, anti-tobacco groups in Nigeria join global day of action to demand an investigation into grey areas
ERA/FoEN Deputy Director, Akinbode Oluwafemi
On the heels of allegations of questionable dealings in Africa by the British American Tobacco (BAT), the Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) on Tuesday joined advocates in Africa, UK and Latin America to demand government action to hold the organisation accountable.
The call comes as BAT convenes its annual general meeting (AGM) in London after months of negative media and the launch of at least one national investigation.
In Lagos, ERA/FoEN organised a press briefing and petitioned the Ministry of Health to demand the Nigerian government to investigate BAT “systematic bribery and blackmail”, which the activists claim is not restricted to East Africa alone, but is widespread even in West Africa and other regions of the continent.
“It shouldn’t take 15 years to pass a law, so in the seven years it took to pass Kenya’s tobacco control act and the eight it took to pass implementing regulations, we have had many reasons to suspect BAT was engaging in illicit activities,” said Samuel Ochieng, Director of Consumer Information Network in Kenya. “Now that we have irrefutable evidence of bribery,” he added, “we will be proud when Kenya is the first country to investigate BAT and hold it accountable.”
Late last year, Paul Hopkins – an employee in BAT’s regional office in Kenya for 13 years – revealed the inner workings of BAT’s systematic bribery and espionage used to obstruct lifesaving laws. The bribes, he alleged, ranged from $3,000 to $20,000 and some were even sanctioned by a regional executive.
“Among the revelations was at least one bribe to a government representative from Burundi to represent BAT’s interests at a World Health Organisation global tobacco treaty meeting. There were multiple bribes to politicians and policymakers to gain access to and obstruct tobacco control policymaking,” ERA/FoEN disclosed in a statement.
In Nigeria BAT is said to be been involved in self-censorship, and not been entirely clear on how anti-tobacco legislations would hamper their business and lead to job and revenue losses.
In addition to Hopkins’ revelations, whistle-blowers in Uganda and South Africa have shed further light on BAT’s actions in those countries. Tens of thousands of people, dozens of organisations, and ten Members of U.S. Congress have already called for governments to investigate BAT and hold it accountable. Kenya’s Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission became the first to launch a formal investigation into BAT, with potential investigations in the UK and the US.
ERA/FoEN and allies on the platform of the Nigeria Tobacco Control Alliance (NTCA) are equally demanding that the Nigerians government opens investigations into infractions of BAT in the course of formulating anti-tobacco legislations like what happened in Uganda and Kenya.
ERA/FoEN Deputy Director, Akinbode Oluwafemi, said: “In the course of the torturous process of getting the National Tobacco Control Bill (now Tobacco Control Act) into law, tens of hurriedly-formed BAT front groups were deployed to fight taxation recommendations, ban on Tobacco Advertising Promotion and Sponsorships (TAPS) and other life-saving provisions from getting into the final document that was finally signed by the former president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan on May 25, 2015.
“While BAT’s executives toast to deadly profits and generations of addiction, people and governments around the world are organizing to hold them accountable for their abuses,” said John Stewart, Deputy Director at Corporate Accountability International, “Fortunately people and governments have the law on their side and the global tobacco treaty provides a proven roadmap to rein in this abusive industry at every turn.”
In November, over 180 countries will convene in New Delhi to expand support offered by the agreement to protect tobacco control and public health policy from tobacco industry interference. Additionally, a primary focus of the meetings will be to establish guidance to hold tobacco industry legally liable for its costs to society.
During the 2016 Opening for Signature of the Paris Agreement, held at United Nations Headquarters in New York on 22 April, 175 Parties (174 countries and the European Union) signed the Agreement, and 15 States deposited instruments of ratification.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry holds his granddaughter Isabel Dobbs-Higginson as he signs the Paris Agreement on climate change, Friday, April 22, 2016
Of the 175 Parties which participated in the Ceremony, 31 participated at the level of Head of State, two participated at the level of Vice President; 24 participated at the level of Head of Government; nine participated at the level of Deputy Prime Minister; 29 participated at the level of Minister for Foreign Affairs; 59 participated at the ministerial level; one participated at the level of former President; and 20 participated at the level of Permanent Representative.
Nigeria is not yet a signatory to the international treaty.
The official UN list below gives details of countries and signatories.
Of the 175 Parties which participated in the Ceremony, 31 participated at the level of Head of StateOf the 175 Parties which participated in the Ceremony, two participated at the level of Vice PresidentOf the 175 Parties which participated in the Ceremony, 24 participated at the level of Head of GovernmentOf the 175 Parties which participated in the Ceremony, nine participated at the level of Deputy Prime MinisterOf the 175 Parties which participated in the Ceremony, 59 participated at the ministerial levelOf the 175 Parties which participated in the Ceremony, one participated at the level of former President and 20 participated at the level of Permanent Representative
The controversy surrounding the construction of the $3.5 billion super highway has deepened as the Cross River State Government has dared the Federal Government, claiming ownership of its forest.
Bulldozers at work clearing the Super Highway’s route passing through parts of Boki
Consequently, the state government despite the stop work order by the Federal Government and protests from impacted communities, national and international organisations including the British government pending the completion of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), has continued bulldozing the forest for the 260 kilometre super highway around Etara and old Ekuri axis.
The state government had without an approved EIA revoked land 10 kilometres on both sides of the highway and moved caterpillars to sites in Ekuri, Okokori, and others which led to massive protests from affected communities and Environmentalists within and outside the country.
The Federal Government is already contemplating a court order on the state government to enforce the stop-work order even as foreign investors and Financial Institutions that indicated interest in the project have deferred interest on the super highway supposed to take off from the Sea port at Essighi in Bakassi and terminate at Gakem in Bekwara Local Government Area the boundary with Vandykkia in
But, not pleased with the position of the Federal Government and other organisations, Governor Ben Ayade, in a statement to a team of UN-REDD consultants in Calabar on the facts and fiction of the superhighway last week, said, “Essentially as a state, it is such a sad thing that people just forget where we are coming from. Cross River State as a sub-national took an institutional policy to preserve and conserve our forest because we want to stay natural.
“By the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, environment falls under concurrent legislation. Therefore, we have exclusive right to manage our environment the way we choose to. As a Government we made a policy to preserve all our forests and therefore dislocated our people from their dependence on our forests.
“That dislocation has caused them pains and agony and it is our responsibility to manage it. REDD+ as currently constituted has in the last three years been more of training, educating people in understanding measurement analysis baselines, safe guards and all of that. It is appreciated, but time has come when you must reflect it on the needs of the people.”
As cabinet approves sweeping economic reforms, prince Mohammed bin Salman says Saudi Arabia will reduce reliance on hydrocarbons
Deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman is driving reforms. Photo credit: Flickr/Ash Carter/Senior Master Sgt. Adrian Cadiz
Saudi Arabia’s cabinet approved Vision 2030 on Monday, a package of economic reforms designed to reduce dependence on oil revenues.
Under the proposal, the Middle Eastern kingdom will float part of national oil firm Saudi Aramco on the stock exchange and diversify its investments.
Mohammed bin Salman, the deputy crown prince behind the reforms, said this would make the economy more resilient to commodity fluctuations.
“I think by 2020, if oil stops we can survive,” he said in an interview on national television. “We need it, we need it, but I think in 2020 we can live without oil.”
Historically, oil has accounted for 90% of national revenue. A crash in the oil price since mid-2014 has blown a hole in Riyadh’s budget, forcing it to draw on reserves.
The prince plans to increase the share of the national investment fund holdings overseas from 5% to 50% by 2020, broadening its sources of income.
Generous state welfare provision is also set to be slashed, including consumer fuel subsidies.
In its submission to the UN climate deal signed in New York last Friday, the Gulf state said its economic diversification plans would cut 130 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent a year by 2030.
Middle Eastern analyst Glada Lahn told Climate Home that was a conservative estimate and Saudi Arabia could double the savings by curbing wasteful consumption.
Full details of the plan are expected to be published in four to six weeks.
Civil society organisations (CSOs) based in Adamawa State in North East Nigeria have urged the Federal Government to dialogue with the Cameroonian government on how the two countries could mutually benefit from the River Benue.
River Benue in Jimeta, Yola, Adamawa State
Rising from a three-day capacity building workshop that ended 22 April, the CSOs, in a communique, lamented that the construction of the Lagdo Dam on the River Benue in Cameroon has almost dried up water flow into Nigeria, particularly affecting raw water intake by the Adamawa State Water Board (ASWB).
The ASWB abstracts water from River Benue through its water treatment plant in Jimeta, Yola and services residents of the state.
However, during heavy rainfall several years ago, water released from the dam was said to have been responsible for the extensive and devastating flooding experienced in Nigeria, prompting the call for the nation to build a corresponding dam that will receive the shock and cushion the flow of such release of water into Nigeria in the future.
In the communique, participants at the capacity building WASH advocacy workshop organised by the Adamawa State Ministry of Water Resources with the support of the European Union Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Reform Programme Phase III (WSSSRP III) came up with the other far-reaching decisions on the way forward to develop the Water Supply and Sanitation sector in the state.
These include:
Water Supply and Sanitation laws in the state are outdated and need to be reviewed to strengthen the operations of the WASH service providers, regulators, and policy formulators for optimal performance.
Several challenges facing the sector are best resolved by the state government. We therefore call on the government to prioritise the WASH sector through increased funding, and programme implementation.
The Adamawa State Water Board needs to be adequately funded and granted increased administrative and financial autonomy to enable it effectively deliver its mandate.
The Adamawa State Government as well as Local Governments in the state are requested to create a budget line for financing sanitation programmes.
Regulatory structures should be established for monitoring service standards particularly water quality.
There should be increased synergy between the civil society and state actors for effective development of the WASH sector.
The WSSSRP III should launch the CSO grant component of the programme without further delay.
Adamawa State Water Board should introduce Water Safety Plans to ensure the consumers have access to safe drinking water.
The Grauer’s gorilla, the world’s largest primate, has been a source of continual worry for conservationists for more than two decades. Longstanding conflict in the deep jungles of the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo left experts with no choice but to guess at how that gorilla subspecies may be faring.
Gorillas in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Photo credit: Christophe Courteau / NPL, via Minden Pictures
Now, with tensions abating somewhat, researchers finally have an updated gorilla head count — one that confirms their fears. According to findings compiled by an international team of conservationists, Grauer’s gorilla populations have plummeted 77 percent over the last 20 years, with fewer than 3,800 of the animals remaining.
“We suspected that the Grauer’s gorilla had declined because of all the insecurity in the region, but no one had an idea of how much they’d declined by,” said Andrew Plumptre, director of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Albertine Rift Programme in Central and Eastern Africa. “It turns out that the rate of collapse pushes this subspecies to the verge of extinction.”
Grauer’s gorillas — named after Rudolf Grauer, an Austrian explorer and zoologist who first recognized the apes as a separate subspecies — resemble their close relative, the mountain gorilla, save for their longer limbs and shorter hair. Although Grauer’s and mountain gorilla populations were once connected, years of isolation have left them genetically distinct enough to warrant separate designations as eastern gorilla subspecies.
An estimated 800,000 Rwandans were killed over a three-month period, while hundreds of thousands more fled to neighbouring Zaire. Some of those refugees formed militias such as the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, and the forest served as their stronghold and hide-out.
Instability soon spread, leading to the overthrow of President Mobutu Sese Sekoand civil war in the newly formed Democratic Republic of Congo. From 1996 to 2003, that conflict cost the lives of an estimated five million people, and also brought the formation of more armed groups, 69 of which continue to operate in the eastern part of the country.
Voters who say global warming is happening – now at 73% – have increased 7% since Spring 2014. Nearly all liberal Democrats (95%) think global warming is happening, as do about three in four moderate/conservative Democrats (80%), Independents (74%, up 15 points since Spring 2014) and liberal/moderate Republicans (71%, up 10 points). While only about half of conservative Republicans (47%) think global warming is happening, they have experienced the largest upward shift of any group, an increase of 19 percentage points over the past two years.
The COP21 agreement, the record-warm winter, and media coverage have likely contributed to growing public awareness. Our studies also find that Pope Francis, with his call for climate action, had an impact on the American climate change conversation.
Global warming is also a factor in the presidential election. Candidates supporting climate action will earn votes, while candidates opposing climate action risk losing votes. Two in three Democrats and half of Independents say global warming will be among the important issues determining their vote for President in the fall.
Other key findings include:
American voters are more likely to vote for a presidential candidate who strongly supports taking action to reduce global warming. Registered voters are three times more likely to vote for (43%, up 7 percentage points since October, 2015) than against (14%) such a candidate.
American voters are less likely to vote for a presidential candidate who strongly opposes taking action to reduce global warming. Registered voters are four times more likely to vote against such a candidate, than to vote for them (45% vs. 11%, respectively).
Two thirds of Democrats (67%; 78% of liberals and 55% of moderates/ conservatives) and half of Independents (49%) say global warming will be among several important issues they consider when determining their vote for president this year.
Majorities of American voters support policies to reduce carbon pollution and dependence on fossil fuels, and to promote clean energy. For example, more than two in three voters support requiring fossil fuel companies to pay a carbon tax and using the money to reduce other taxes such as income taxes by an equal amount (68% of all registered voters, 86% of Democrats, 66% of Independents, and 47% of Republicans).
Voters who say global warming is happening – now at 73% – have increased 7% since Spring 2014. Nearly all liberal Democrats (95%) think global warming is happening, as do about three in four moderate/conservative Democrats (80%), Independents (74%, up 15 points since Spring 2014) and liberal/moderate Republicans (71%, up 10 points). While only about half of conservative Republicans (47%) think global warming is happening, they have experienced the largest upward shift of any group, an increase of 19 percentage points over the past two years.