War, conflict dominate public worries

A new IPSOS report has revealed that climate change fell over 20 per cent behind in top global concerns among 50 countries in 2025. The report unveiled yesterday at the General Assembly of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) indicated a sharp slide of about 20 per cent in public concern for climate change, even after the 2024 hottest year on record.

It raised the alarm that, as wars, pandemics, and inflation dominate public debate, climate change risks sliding out of political and consumer consciousness.

The 2025 Global Consumer Awareness Survey conducted with IPSOS across 50 countries and 40,000 plus respondents, find war and conflict (52 per cent) now dominate public worries, while climate change trails at 31 per cent, which is a 21-point gap in the 2025 snapshot.

Looking only at the 32 countries surveyed in both 2022 and 2025, the concern gap has widened from 12 points in 2022, where economic hardship was in the top position, to 16 points in 2025.

Issues, such as loss of species, deforestation, wildfires, droughts and floods, remain among the most pressing forestry concerns worldwide, underscoring that people experience climate risk very directly through forests.

While concern about climate change ranks lower than other global crises, Canadians expressed strong concern about forest-related issues, like wildfires, likely because they are a threat felt more locally.

However, rising concern in key markets like Japan registers a notable increase in climate concern since 2022, while Brazil also moves sharply upward, bucking the global decline.

Despite the attention shift, consumers still reward credible sustainability; demand for products that “do no harm” to plants and animals remains strong and continues to influence brand trust and loyalty.

FSC Director General, Subhra Bhattacharjee, said: “This concern gap shows why we must work with the concrete realities of people’s lives if we are to address climate change effectively. The survey shows a clear contradiction: people report lower worry about climate change, and yet they reward brands that can prove sustainability.

This disconnect between abstract concepts and practical choices points to a clear need: make climate action tangible in daily life.” Senior Director of Markets at FSC, Helen Chepkemoi Too, said: “Even if climate change isn’t always top of mind, people are increasingly voting with their wallets. They want sustainable choices—and they reward brands that can prove their impact.”

In Africa, the study shows that public concern about climate change declined most sharply in Kenya, down by 12 percentage points since 2023, followed by a 7-point drop in South Africa.

Deputy Director, FSC Africa, Annah Agasha, said: “Africa has faced a year marked by conflict, economic strain, and social unrest. These realities inevitably influence people’s priorities. Yet, even amid uncertainty, sustainability remains a strong value across the continent.”