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Nearly 60 per cent of New Zealanders are concerned or very concerned about the effects of global warming, a new mini poll reveals.
The poll of 251 people carried out by Research New Zealand, 58 per cent showed a "significant level of concern" when asked what they thought about global warming.
Only two per cent were "not concerned at all", and 17 per cent were neutral on the issue.
Research NZ said the figures were roughly consistent in all age groups, with no one group showing a distinct lack of concern about global warming.
Research NZ director Emanuel Kalafatelis said the survey showed New Zealanders had been heeding what they had heard, read and seen in the media.
Dealing with climate change was a hot topic for politicians right now, he said.
"For an issue to be rated concerning or very concerning by nearly 60 per cent of New Zealanders in a general poll shows it has registered in a significant way," he said.
Internationally, discussion about climate change had intensified, driven by Al Gore's blockbuster movie, The Inconvenient Truth, and the British government's Stern Report, which predicted a massive economic crisis if the issue was not addressed, Mr Kalafatelis said.
- NZPA
