Climate change: 90% of rural Australians say their lives are already affected

The Climate Institute says 82% of poll
respondents in rural and regional Australia
 and 81% of those in capital cities were
 concerned about increased droughts as a 
result of climate change. 

Ninety per cent of people living in rural and regional Australia believe they are already experiencing the impacts of climate change and 46% believe coal-fired power stations should be phased out, according to a new study.

A poll of 2,000 people conducted by the Climate Institute found that 82% of respondents in rural and regional Australia and 81% of those in capital cities were concerned about increased droughts, flooding and destruction of the Great Barrier Reef due to climate change, and 78% of all respondents were concerned there would be more bushfires.

About three quarters of all respondents – 76% in capital cities and 74% in rural or regional areas – said ignoring climate change would make the situation worse and about two-thirds said they believed the federal government should take a leading role.

Read Calla Wahlquist’s story in The Guardian - “Climate change: 90% of rural Australians say their lives are already affected.”