Climate change tops list of concerns of parliamentarians across world: IPU poll
BATHINDA: Climate change and its global impact are the top concerns for parliamentarians and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). According to a perception poll conducte d by the IPU, 43% of parliamentarians worldwide are worried about the effects of climate change on our planet. The findings of the poll were released on Friday.
This poll, carried out ahead of the 135th anniversary of the IPU—also known as International Day of Parliamentarism, observed on June 30—highlighted the pressing issue.The IPU, founded in 1889, is the global organization of national parliaments.
The IPU polled members of parliament and related stakeholders from around the world to gauge their levels of optimism, their perceptions of the greatest challenges facing the world and their own countries, and their sense of safety working in parliaments.
Climate change tops the list of concerns: Globally, respondents ranked climate change (43%) and war (27%) as the top two issues facing the world. When asked about challenges in their own countries, climate change (29%) remained the primary concern, followed by social and economic inequality (20%) and weakening democracies (13%).
Current MPs express cautious optimism: Topline results reveal that sitting parliamentarians are generally optimistic about the future, with more optimism expressed about their own countries than about the world. Very few respondents reported feeling highly pessimistic, with “somewhat optimistic” being the most common response.
Majority of stakeholders feel safe in parliaments: 75% of those polled felt safe working in parliaments, with nearly 60% of current MPs expressing an intention to seek re-election. Respondents who felt unsafe were more likely to be former Parliamentarians, less optimistic about the world, and less likely to recommend politics as a career.
Politics as a career choice: The greatest negative sentiment in responses to the poll concerned whether respondents would recommend politics as a career to their children. Only 40.2% said yes, with 30.1% undecided and 29.7% saying no.
Sample and process: Approximately 800 people from the global parliamentary community responded to the IPU poll between June 14 and 21, 2024. Current and former MPs comprised 37% of the sample, while current and former parliamentary staff made up 33%. The remaining respondents identified as “other”.
The gender ratio was 58% male to 42% female. Respondents hailed from Africa (38.5%), Europe (25.8%), Asia (19.2%), the Americas and the Caribbean (13.2%), and Australia and Oceania (3.3%).
The IPU global perceptions poll is conducted annually to track changes in sentiment and parliamentary priorities over time.
This poll, carried out ahead of the 135th anniversary of the IPU—also known as International Day of Parliamentarism, observed on June 30—highlighted the pressing issue.The IPU, founded in 1889, is the global organization of national parliaments.
The IPU polled members of parliament and related stakeholders from around the world to gauge their levels of optimism, their perceptions of the greatest challenges facing the world and their own countries, and their sense of safety working in parliaments.
Climate change tops the list of concerns: Globally, respondents ranked climate change (43%) and war (27%) as the top two issues facing the world. When asked about challenges in their own countries, climate change (29%) remained the primary concern, followed by social and economic inequality (20%) and weakening democracies (13%).
Current MPs express cautious optimism: Topline results reveal that sitting parliamentarians are generally optimistic about the future, with more optimism expressed about their own countries than about the world. Very few respondents reported feeling highly pessimistic, with “somewhat optimistic” being the most common response.
Majority of stakeholders feel safe in parliaments: 75% of those polled felt safe working in parliaments, with nearly 60% of current MPs expressing an intention to seek re-election. Respondents who felt unsafe were more likely to be former Parliamentarians, less optimistic about the world, and less likely to recommend politics as a career.
Politics as a career choice: The greatest negative sentiment in responses to the poll concerned whether respondents would recommend politics as a career to their children. Only 40.2% said yes, with 30.1% undecided and 29.7% saying no.
Sample and process: Approximately 800 people from the global parliamentary community responded to the IPU poll between June 14 and 21, 2024. Current and former MPs comprised 37% of the sample, while current and former parliamentary staff made up 33%. The remaining respondents identified as “other”.
The gender ratio was 58% male to 42% female. Respondents hailed from Africa (38.5%), Europe (25.8%), Asia (19.2%), the Americas and the Caribbean (13.2%), and Australia and Oceania (3.3%).
The IPU global perceptions poll is conducted annually to track changes in sentiment and parliamentary priorities over time.