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General awareness of climate change is relatively low says Afrobarometer survey

General awareness of climate change is relatively low says Afrobarometer survey

Namibia’s future, climate-change mitigation and environmental governance are critical issues the country must confront given the importance of agriculture, tourism, and natural resource extraction, an Afrobarometer survey released Friday stated.

Data presented shows that Namibians have a substantial but not sufficient understanding of the threats associated with climate change, the survey noted.

“General awareness of climate change is relatively low, especially in rural areas and among those with limited education,” the survey noted.

According to the survey, among those who are aware of climate change, however, clear majorities said that no one, not the government, business, the international community, or citizens themselves is doing enough to fight it.

“Environmental pollution seems to be a more immediate concern for Namibians, particularly in the cities and among the poor. Trash and plastic disposal ranks at the top of the list of pollution problems, to the point where two-thirds of adults would welcome a ban on the production and use of plastic bags,” the survey added.

The survey meanwhile stated that given the country’s continuing recession, with high unemployment exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is not surprising that many Namibians feel that the benefits of natural resource extraction, such as jobs and revenue, outweigh potential negative impacts such as pollution.

The Afrobarometer team in Namibia, led by Survey Warehouse, interviewed 1,200 adult Namibians in October-November 2021. A sample of this size yields country-level results with a margin of error of +/-3 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. Previous surveys were conducted in Namibia in 1999, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2014, 2017, and 2019.


 

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