TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Asahi Glass Foundation, chaired by Takuya Shimamura, conducted an online survey of 13,500 people in Japan and 24 other countries in total, with 6,589 participants aged 18-24, and 6,911 participants aged 25-69. Its goal was to assess awareness and action regarding environmental issues.
- Overall, participants rated "Climate Change" as the most pressing environmental issue in the country or region where they reside and expressed concern over extreme weather conditions. This was followed by "Society, Economy and Environment, Policies, Measures," and "Water Resources."
- The participants chose Japan as the country that is making progress in terms of public awareness and action on environmental issues, followed by the USA and China. The reasons for choosing Japan included "the people are disciplined" and "it has excellent technology."
- As of 2023, the average perceived level of SDG achievement across all age groups was 35.0%. The average for 25-69-year-olds was 33.9%, while 18-24-year-olds was 41.1%, slightly higher than the older generation.
- Out of the 17 SDGs, “No Poverty” (1st), “Zero Hunger” (2nd), and “Good Health and Well-being” (3rd) were selected as the goals that interested participants most in their daily lives. “Climate Action" did not rank within the top 3.
- The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that participants thought will have the highest level of realization by 2030 were "Zero Hunger" (1st), "Good Health and Wellbeing" (2nd), and "No Poverty" (3rd). The SDGs that participants thought would have the lowest level of realization were "No Poverty" (1st), "Reduced Inequalities" (2nd), and "Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions" (3rd). The percentage of people who were concerned about equality and peace was higher than last year, possibly due to the influence of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
- When showing environmental crisis awareness time on a clock, from 0:01 to 12:00, participants of all age brackets averaged out at 7:23, meaning "fairly concerned." 18-24-year-olds averaged out slightly lower at 7:03, while 25-69-year-olds were at 7:27, meaning they were slightly more concerned. The average time given by global environmental experts was two hours ahead of the general public, at 9:31, "extremely concerned." But both experts and the general public expressed a sense of crisis.
