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Indian Decision Makers ‘Extremely Concerned’ About Negative Impact on Business from Climate Change: Survey

Prabodh Krishna Dec 13, 2019

In a perception-survey conducted by Morning consult and IBM on the climate change in US and India shows the Indians are much more concerned about the changing climate than their US counterparts.

This survey was conducted between 29 October and 4 December and the findings were released on 12 December by IBM Weather Company.

The poll was conducted among 195 US-based small-business owners and 400 Indian small-business owners, along with more than 4816 individual adults in both the nations. Here are some of the key takeaways.

Twenty Three per cent of the US general population believes that human-made climate change is the primary cause of increased severe weather events (with another 32 per cent believing it to be a 'major factor') compared to 51 per cent of the Indian general population (with another 34 per cent believing it to be a 'major factor’).
Forty-Seven per cent of US senior business decision-makers say their business has been disrupted by a severe weather event in the past year (with nine per cent saying they've been 'severely' disrupted) compared to 78 per cent of Indian senior business decision-makers saying the same (with 54 per cent saying they've been 'severely' disrupted).
Twenty per cent of US business decision-makers say they are 'extremely concerned' about climate change having a negative impact on their business over the next several years, compared to 62 per cent of Indian business decision-makers. This shows that Indian business fraternity is more sensitive towards climate change and its negative impact.
Thirty-Six per cent of the US general population say their local economy has been disrupted by a severe weather event in the past year, compared to 72 per cent of the Indian general population. A three years low wholesale price index in India is a reflection of the Indian concerns.
26 per cent of the US general population are extremely concerned that climate change could have a negative impact on their local economy over the next several years, compared to 51 per cent of the Indian general population who say the same.
A major concern is a lack of confidence among Indian for the weather forecasts in comparison to US people. Majorities in the US and India say they are somewhat or very confident in the accuracy and timeliness of their area's weather forecasts to help their communities prepare for natural disasters, those in India are nearly twice as likely as those in the US to say they are not confident in their local forecast (32 per cent in India, 17 per cent in the US).