One in five Indonesians don't believe human activity causes climate change

Eight per cent of Indonesians said human-driven global warming was a hoax and part of a conspiracy theory. PHOTO: AFP

JAKARTA (THE JAKARTA POST/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - A survey has revealed that 18 per cent of Indonesians do not believe human activity causes climate change, while another 6 per cent believe that the climate is not changing at all.

Indonesia has the highest percentage of climate change deniers among 23 countries surveyed in a study conducted from Feb 28 to March 26 by global public opinion and data company YouGov.

A quarter of Indonesians said humans were mainly responsible for climate change, while 29 per cent believed other factors also played a role. Another 21 per cent of respondents answered by saying they did not know.

Eight per cent of Indonesians said human-driven global warming was a hoax and part of a conspiracy theory.

Saudi Arabia is second after Indonesia, with 16 per cent of people who do not believe that humans contribute to climate change, followed by the United States (13 per cent), South Africa (11 per cent), Mexico (10 per cent) and Egypt (10 per cent).

However, Indonesians consider it important to buy locally made products instead of imported goods (87 per cent), as well as ethical or eco-friendly products (92 per cent).

In comparison, Italy, which had 48 per cent of respondents say that humans were mainly responsible for climate change, had fewer people say it was important to buy local products (80 per cent) and ethical or eco-friendly products (79 per cent).

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".

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