Aid for poor countries

A majority of British residents believe the country is responsible for climate change and should provide financial assistance to developing nations in response to climate change. The results of a poll published on Thursday by the polling company Omnisis show this.

The issue of rich, polluting countries providing significant funding to developing countries is central to the UN climate summit Cop27 in Egypt. But experts warn that without the flow of many billions of dollars to help reduce emissions and deal with the increasing environmental impacts, there will not be the trust needed for the joint global action needed to tackle the crisis.

The poll showed that the UK's total emissions over time are among the highest in the world, while poorer countries have produced very few emissions. The results showed that 49% of people said the UK was responsible for providing climate finance, 31% said the UK did not, and 20% said they did not know.

The results were similar for Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat voters. However, people aged 18-34 showed much stronger support for climate payments to vulnerable countries, with 65% in favour than those aged 65-74, of whom only 37% were in favour.

It is worth noting that The Guardian reported last week that the UK, along with the US and Australia, had not provided their "fair share" of climate finance.

A separate poll in all G7 countries found that 65% of people agreed that richer countries should pay more for climate action because they have historically been responsible for more damage, while 11% disagreed.

The poll from Omnisis found that a large majority of people said action to end the climate emergency would be good for the UK economy, with 48% compared to 38% saying it would be bad for the economy. People of all ages and all political parties agreed that climate action would benefit the economy.

The poll also showed that fewer people (34%) supported stopping new oil and gas developments in the UK than were against it (41%).

However, most people (53%) did not think Cop27 would accelerate action on the climate crisis. Only 29% of people said it would.