and still, only leadership is lacking

The U.N. representatives meeting to discuss climate change this week should really pay attention to this poll. The president of the international polling firm GlobeScan, which conducted the poll, concluded from these findings that it's "difficult to imagine a more supportive public opinion environment for national leaders to commit to climate action." A few highlights:

• A majority in all countries believes that climate change is caused by human activity
• In 15 out of 21 countries, a majority believes that it is "necessary to take major steps very soon" to counteract global warming; most of the remainder opted for "modest steps in the coming years"; only 6% overall believes that no action is necessary
• Of the 21 countries polled, a majority in all developed countries and nearly all developing countries believes that both wealthy and less wealthy countries should limit their carbon emissions in the coming years. Most participants believed that developing countries should limit emissions in exchange for technology and financial aid from more wealthy countries.

In a word, the world is ready for action against climate change. The only people who seem to be dragging their feet are the politicians.

Read the full results here (PDF).