[Asahi Glass Foundation Public Interest Incorporated Foundation] Results of the 33rd “Survey on Global Environmental Issues and the Survival of Humanity”
*Asahi Glass Foundation*
Press release: September 4, 2024
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Results of the 33rd “Survey on Global Environmental Issues and the Survival of Humanity”
Since 1992, the Asahi Glass Foundation (President: Takuya Shimamura), a public interest incorporated foundation, has been conducting an annual environmental survey among environmental experts around the world. This year, we sent survey forms to 202 countries, including Japan, and 128 countries.
We received responses from 2,093 people. The details of the survey results will be published in the “33rd Survey Report on Global Environmental Issues and the Survival of Humanity” and will be published on the Foundation website (
You can also view it at http://www.af-info.or.jp
● This year’s Environmental Crisis Clock (R) time is 9:27 a.m., which is a 4-minute move back from last year. Starting in 2021, the clock has been turned back for the fourth consecutive year.
● Looking at the environmental crisis time in each region of the world, compared to last year,* the hands moved forward by 19 minutes in Western Europe, but the hands moved back in all other regions*. ● “Climate change” has been the most frequently cited item in determining the crisis time* since 2011*.
● * Few people think that progress is being made in the conservation and restoration of wildlife habitats*, and it is thought that this is lagging behind the transition to a decarbonized society.
● In order to achieve the goals by 2030, as of 2024, assuming 100% achievement of all goals*
Perceived achievement of the SDGs was 27% in Japan and 31%* worldwide. ● In Japan*, the goal that people thought was least likely to achieve in 2030 was “1. Eliminate poverty,” and the goal that they thought was most likely to be achieved was “4. Provide high-quality education for everyone.” *
* I Environmental Crisis Clock* (R)* ~Awareness of the crisis of human survival* *I-1 Environmental Crisis Clock* (R)* Time*
・The time on the Environmental Crisis Clock (R) had been moving forward since 2011, but from 2021 the hands of the clock have moved back to 9:27 for the fourth consecutive year. (Figure 1)
Figure 1 Changes in the Environmental Crisis Clock (R) time over the past 6 years (world)
・Looking at the time on the Environmental Crisis Clock (R) in various regions around the world, compared to last year, the hands have moved forward by 19 minutes in Western Europe, but the hands have moved back in all other regions. In particular, the needle returned to 35 minutes in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean, and 44 minutes in the Middle East.
Figure 2: Environmental Crisis Clock (R) times in each region of the world (red: regions/countries whose clocks have moved forward from last year; green: regions/countries whose clocks have moved back since last year)
・Worldwide environmental crisis clock (R) since the start of the survey Since 1996, with the exception of 2000, the time has always been in the 9 o’clock range, an area of “extreme anxiety”. (Table 1/Figure 3)
Figure 3 Changes in the environmental crisis clock (R) of the world and Japan since 1992
-While there are many regions around the world where the hands have moved back, in Japan the hands have moved forward by 6 minutes since last year to 9:37. (Figure 3)
* I-2 Changes in environmental crisis time by age group of respondents (2015-2024)*
・Respondents in their 60s and older tend to indicate a more advanced Environmental Clock (R) time than other generations.
・This year, the Environmental Crisis Clock (R) for those in their 20s to 50s moved back, while those in their 60s and older moved forward. There has been a noticeable dichotomy in how people in their 60s and above view the current state of environmental issues and those in their 60s and above. (Figure 4)
Figure 4 Changes in the time of the Environmental Crisis Clock (R) by generation Figure 5 Time trends in the Environmental Crisis Clock (R) for regions and countries with many respondents
・People in their 20s and 30s, who account for more than 80% of Chinese respondents, evaluate the government’s environmental measures and seem to think that environmental issues in China are heading in the right direction. (Figure 5)
– Approximately 80% of Taiwanese respondents were in their 20s to 40s, and they answered that the crisis time is around 8 o’clock every year.
* II “Items that indicate changes in the global environment” that were kept in mind when entering the time on the Environmental Crisis Clock (R) (world) *
To determine the time of day for this survey, respondents were asked to choose the most serious environmental problem in their country or region from the following 9 items that indicate changes in the global environment, ranked 1st to 3rd. Ta. (Please refer to the investigation report for details of the investigation results.)
*9 items that indicate changes in the global environment*:
1. Climate change, 2. Biosphere integrity (biodiversity), 3. Changes in terrestrial systems (land use)
4. Biochemical flow (environmental pollution), 5. Water resources, 6. Population, 7. Food, 8. Lifestyle (propensity to consume),
9.Society, economy and environment, policies and measures
* II-1 Weighted average selection rate of 9 items indicating changes in the global environment *
・Regarding the selection rate of the items that were kept in mind when filling in the crisis time on the Environmental Crisis Clock (R), “climate change” was the most frequently selected item at 30%, followed by “biosphere integrity (biodiversity)” at 13%. followed, and this order has remained the same for seven consecutive years. (Figure 6)
*II-2 Ranking of crisis time on the Environmental Crisis Clock(R)* ・Environmental Crisis Clock (R) for “items that indicate changes in the global environment” throughout the world
In order of time, “Biosphere Integrity (Biodiversity)” (9:46), “Climate Change” (9:33), “Society, Economy and Environment,
Production, Policy” (9:33) minutes) is ahead of the world average (9:27). (Figure 6)
Figure 6 Distribution map of items indicating changes in the global environment
* III Awareness of the issues of “climate change” and “loss of biodiversity”* Regarding the issues of “climate change” and “loss of biodiversity,” 1. “Public awareness,” 2. “Policies and legal systems,” and 3. “Social infrastructure (funds, human resources, technology, and equipment).” We asked respondents about their perceptions of progress within their own countries in “transforming to a decarbonized society” and “conserving and restoring wildlife habitats” to curb global warming from three perspectives.
(“-2” for “no progress”, “-1” for “somewhat progress”, “ 1” for “somewhat progress”, “ 1” for “definitely progress”) The average value was calculated as “ 2″).
* III-1 Perceptions regarding the progress of the transition to a decarbonized society*
– Regarding the transition to a decarbonized society, the aspects of “policies/legal systems” and “social infrastructure (funds, human resources, technology, equipment)” are not as advanced as the aspects of “general public awareness.” (Figure 7: Report
(Created from Table 8)
Figure 7 “Progress of transition to a decarbonized society”: Trends in average values from three perspectives
* III-2 Perceptions regarding the progress of “wildlife habitat conservation and restoration”*
– Few people think that progress is being made in the conservation and restoration of wildlife habitats, and it is thought that this is lagging behind the transition to a decarbonized society.
・Many people in their 20s and 30s believe that more progress has been made in conserving and restoring wildlife habitats than other generations. (Table 2: Created from report Table 9)
* IV Awareness regarding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) * Among the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), choose 3 goals that you think are highly and least likely to be achieved by 2030. I asked them to choose one. The three goals of the top answers are shown in Tables 3-1 and 3-2. Data for each region and country is listed in the 2024 Survey Report.
・As for the goals that they think will be highly achievable in 2030, the global average is “9. Create a foundation for industry and technological innovation” (23%) and “4. High-quality education for everyone” (20%). , “13. Take concrete measures to combat climate change” (18%) were selected by many countries and regions. On the other hand, 23% of respondents chose “I don’t think I have a high degree of achievement.”
・The goals that are least likely to be achieved in 2030 are “1. Eliminate poverty” (36%), “10. Eliminate inequality among people and countries” (27%), and “13. Reduce climate change.” Many respondents chose three options: “Please take concrete measures” (25%).
Towards achieving the goals by 2030, to what extent do you think the 17 SDGs have been achieved overall as of 2024?
We asked them to answer in 5% increments from 1 to 100.
Figure 8 Distribution of perceived SDGs achievement level (%) as of 2024 ・15.1% of respondents answered that their achievement level was 0%, and 9.5% said they did not think they were on the way to achieving their goals, with an average of 31.0%. (Figure 8)
・There are large differences in how people feel about the degree of achievement of the SDGs. As shown in the 2024 report (Figure 18), there were large differences in perceptions depending on age, with younger generations tending to perceive higher levels of achievement.
This survey has a free writing section where respondents can write about the actual state of environmental issues in countries around the world, their opinions, and improvement measures. This year as well, we received many meaningful opinions and comments in addition to survey responses. Excerpts from these will be posted on the Foundation website. Please take a look at the opinions of experts on
environmental issues.
https://www.af-info.or.jp/questionnaire/result.html
-Survey overview-
Survey period: April to June 2024
Research institution: Asahi Glass Foundation
Survey target:
Experts involved in environmental issues from governments, local governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs/NPOs),
universities/research institutes, companies, mass media, etc. around the world (based on the database held by the Asahi Glass Foundation) Number of valid answers: 2,093
Survey method: A survey was created in six languages: Japanese, English, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, and French.The survey was sent out in April every year, and responses were received by June. Compare and analyze opinions and announce survey results in September