Africans 'take blame for climate change'

Written by: xiamenb2c03 x on Mar 21, 2010 11:24 PM EDT

Many Africans blame themselves for climate change even though fossil fuel emissions there are less than 4% of the global total, a new survey suggests.

The report, the most extensive survey ever conducted on public understanding of the issue, found that others blamed God for changes in weather patterns. It suggests dealing with climate change poses similar challenges to HIV and Aids, as people lack key information

It has become a well-worn truism of international climate politics that those that did the least to cause climate change are those set to suffer the most from it.

The report found a near-universal sense that what people call "weather" is changing and affecting lives. Instead people tend to blame themselves or their peers for local environmental degradation and some see the changes as a form of divine punishment.

Some 200 opinion leaders were also interviewed for the report. Some argued that the lack of appropriate information about rising temperatures is comparable to the early days of HIV/Aids where ignorance helped the rapid spread of the infection.
Often local government leaders were among those least informed about global climate change.

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