By Taylor Luck
http://www.jordantimes.com/index.php?news=27574
AMMAN – Jordanians think the Kingdom is generally liked abroad and are the least likely to make sacrifices to preserve the environment, according to a global public opinion survey released on Thursday.
The Pew Research Centre Global Attitudes Survey, which polled 22 nations in subjects ranging from the economy and extremism to sports, indicated that slightly less than half (47 per cent) of Jordanians view climate change as a serious threat, down from 54 per cent last year.
Regionally, a vast majority of Turks (74 per cent) and Lebanese (71 per cent) view climate change as a very serious threat, according to the report.
The US was among the least concerned countries polled in the survey, with 37 per cent of American respondents listing the phenomenon as a very serious threat.
Jordanians were the least willing to make sacrifices to preserve the environment, the study revealed, with 42 per cent of respondents expressing willingness to protect the environment even if it slows growth and reduces jobs.
Regionally, 74 per cent of Turks, 70 per cent of Lebanese and 43 per cent of Egyptian respondents said they would risk economic growth to protect the environment.
Approximately 73 per cent of Jordanians refuse to pay higher prices to address climate change, the most negative reaction among the 22 surveyed countries.
A majority of Egyptians (68 per cent) Indonesians (63 per cent), French (61 per cent), Americans (58 per cent) and Russians (57 per cent) were also reluctant to pay more to curb climate change.
For the survey, pollsters conducted face-to-face interviews in Arabic with 1,000 Jordanian aged 18 and above, between April 12 and May 3, 2010. The public opinion poll has a margin of error of +/- 4 per cent, according to the Pew Research Centre.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The full report of the section on environmental issues in the 2010 Pew Global Attitudes Survey is found at
http://pewglobal.org/2010/06/17/obama-more-popular-abroad-than-at-home/9/#chapter-8-environmental-issues
The survey results compare responses in 22 countries to questions on whether protecting the environment should be made a priority, even if doing so results in job loss or less economic growth; whether climate change is a very serious problem; and whether individuals should pay higher prices to address climate change.