The Climate Progress Survey: Business & Consumer Worries & Hopes

The Climate Progress Survey reveals a global consensus that climate change is human-caused and urgent, though optimism regarding emission reductions varies significantly by region. While most respondents support taxing polluting businesses and prioritize renewable energy and air quality, corporate perceptions of climate risk and the utility of ESG metrics differ sharply, with South Asian organizations reporting the highest risk and highest trust in ESG, while North American companies report the lowest.

• There is a global consensus that climate change is primarily human-caused and urgent, although optimism about reducing emissions within 20 years varies by region. South Asian respondents are the most optimistic (76%), while Western Europeans (31%) and North Americans (40%) are significantly more pessimistic.
• Public opinion strongly favors international cooperation and specific policy interventions. A majority of global respondents believe it is important for countries to work together, and 79% globally favor policies that impose taxes on businesses that pollute excessively.
• Renewable energy and air pollution are identified as the most critical climate-related issues for world leaders to address globally.
• Corporate perceptions of climate risk are highly regional. While 49% of organizations globally view climate change as a top or major risk, this figure reaches 66% in South Asia and drops to 34% in North America.
• Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) metrics are viewed positively by more than two-thirds of corporate respondents, though their perceived usefulness varies. Half of all organizations using ESG metrics find them very or extremely useful, with South Asian respondents (71%) being the most positive and Western Europeans (33%) the least.
• Global consumers identify a lack of infrastructure as the primary obstacle to recycling, and they express a universal willingness to adopt reusable packaging if it guarantees a reduction in environmental harm.
• Corporate respondents identify COVID-19 complications and a lack of staff education as the primary challenges to achieving sustainability goals.

APA

World Economic Forum (n.d.). The Climate Progress Survey: Business & Consumer Worries & Hopes. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/SAP_WEF_Sustainability_Report.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. The Climate Progress Survey: Business & Consumer Worries & Hopes. n.d. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/SAP_WEF_Sustainability_Report.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=The Climate Progress Survey: Business & Consumer Worries & Hopes |url=https://www3.weforum.org/docs/SAP_WEF_Sustainability_Report.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforumndclimate, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{The Climate Progress Survey: Business \& Consumer Worries \& Hopes}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, url = {https://www3.weforum.org/docs/SAP_WEF_Sustainability_Report.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }