Lesser Number Of South Koreans Believe Climate Change Is A Serious Problem Compared To Percentage In 2010, Says American Think Tank Pew Research

by Therese Agcopra / Nov 10, 2015 12:17 AM EST

A fewer number of South Koreans see climate change as a serious issue. (Photo by Chung Sung Jun/Getty Images)

As world leaders prepare to negotiate a climate change agreement and solidify a global agenda for the environmental issue for the coming years at the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Paris this December, a new survey indicates a global consensus that climate change is indeed a serious challenge. However, the survey also shows that South Koreans have grown less concerned about the issue than they were five years ago.

In a survey conducted by U.S.-based think tank Pew Research on 45,435 respondents in 40 countries worldwide, it was found that 48 percent of South Koreans believe that climate change poses a significant problem. South Korea's number dropped from the 68 percent who shared the same sentiments in 2010, the Korea Herald reported.

South Korea is not the only country where concern for climate change has seemed to plummet. Turkey showed the biggest decline from 74 percent in 2010 to 37 percent. In China, which is one of the biggest greenhouse gas emitters, people's interest in climate change issues had a drop from 41 percent to 18 percent.

Nevertheless, despite the decrease per country, majority of the countries polled say climate change is a serious concern, recording a global median of 54 percent.

Additionally, a global median of 78% support the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions as part of the primary discussions at the Paris Climate Change Conference.

The survey showed that 89 percent of South Koreans believe that climate change will affect them personally in the future. Of this number, 32 percent were categorized as "very concerned" while 57 percent were "somewhat concerned".

Pew Research also conducted a survey on how nations feel about the possible consequences of climate change. 34 percent of people in the Asia Pacific region say violent weather is a cause for concern. On the other hand, one out of five respondents in France, United Kingdom, Australia and South Korea finds that rising sea levels is a worrying possibility.