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ublic opinion is needed to push the government to act to mitigate climate change, but a new survey shows that many of the nation's students believe climate change is God's will and that humans can do nothing to stop it.

The results of a survey conducted by the British Council show that most students and teachers are aware of the impacts of climate change but fail to identify the sources causing global warming.

"Interestingly, a number of students still consider climate change to be God's will and believe there is nothing they can do to prevent it," Nita Murjani, project manager for climate security at the British Council Indonesia told The Jakarta Post.

The survey, conducted between March and June, polled 524 teachers and 1,710 students from elementary, junior high, and senior high schools in Yogyakarta, Surabaya, East Kalimantan and Papua.

The survey found that climate issues have not yet been incorporated into school curriculums.

"Most of the respondents have at least heard of climate change; mainly since the 2007 Climate conference in Bali," Nita said.

"They are aware of the impacts of climate change, but not the sources."

The survey found that some respondents consider climate change to be a natural phenomenon and do not think that human activity play a large part.

A large number of respondents believe that air pollution was responsible for climate change.

"Deforestation and land conversion and fossil fuels were not part of the respondents' discourse," a report on the survey stated.

But perhaps more alarmingly, many teachers said they were not interested in climate change issues.

The survey was conducted just months before world leaders are set to meet in Copenhagen to agree on a new strategy to lower greenhouse gas emissions to prevent the global temperature from rising.

Scientists have said that even a small increase in global temperatures would accelerate the melting of the polar ice caps and cause sea levels to rise, which would threatened billions of people in low lying areas, including those in Indonesia.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts sea levels will rise by 310-millimeters over the next decade.

"If sea levels continue to rise, Indonesia may lose as many as 2,000 low-lying islands by 2030," Liana Bratasida, assistant minister for global environment affairs and international cooperation at the Office of the State Minister for the Environment, said in the report.

British Ambassador to Indonesia Martin Hatfull acknowledged the key role education plays in boosting public awareness of climate change.

The survey recommends the government develop a core curriculum for climate change education and train teachers across the country to teach it.

Head of the Climate Project Indonesian (TCP), Amanda Katili, said TCP members have shared climate change knowledge with dozens of communities, including students in Indonesia.