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Deniers pose challenge to climate change campaign
A recent survey revealed that one in five Indonesians do not believe that humans are the main driver of the global climate crisis.
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Getting the planet back on its feet: An environmentalist in a costume is helped up at the COP24 United Nations Climate Change Conference 2018 in Katowice, Poland, on Tuesday. (Reuters/kacperpempel)
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ndonesia as one of the biggest producers of carbon emissions plays a crucial role in the global fight against climate change. With its lush, green environments, the world’s largest archipelagic nation has the potential to absorb and store large amounts of greenhouse gases.
However, the mission to mainstream the issue faces a major challenge, as a recent survey revealed that one in five Indonesians do not believe that humans are the main driver of the climate crisis.
According to a report issued by global public opinion and data company YouGov, Indonesia has the highest percentage of climate change deniers among 23 countries in a study conducted from Feb. 28 to March 26.
Of 1,001 Indonesian adults surveyed, 18 percent said they do not believe human activity causes climate change. Moreover, 6 percent of them said human-driven global warming was a hoax and part of a conspiracy theory.
Saudi Arabia followed Indonesia with 16 percent of its people saying they do not believe that humans contribute to climate change. The Muslim-majority countries are followed by the United States (13 percent), South Africa (11 percent) and Mexico (10 percent) and Egypt (10 percent).
The Guardian, which exclusively published the YouGov data, noted that "a clear majority of people around the world think climate change is happening and that it is all or partly down to human actions".
Not all Indonesians, however, are turning a blind eye to the climate crisis. A quarter of survey participants from Indonesia said they believe humans should be blamed as the main driver for climate change, while 29 percent of Indonesians believe other factors also play a role.
