Action Aid reveals the nation's fear of climate change in the lead up to a major international summit
People are more worried now about climate change than they were five years ago a new poll has claimed.
Ahead of Scotland’s Climate March in Edinburgh on Saturday more than one in three members of the public told international poverty charity Action Aid that their concerns had increased since 2010.
Of those around half said they felt that not enough is being done by global leaders to tackle climate change, and a quarter said they were most worried about the impact on people in developing countries.
Action Aid UK, which is taking part in London’s Climate March on Sunday, said climate change is already having an effect on some of the poorest people in the world in places like Bangladesh.
The charity’s chief executive Girish Menon says rising sea levels there have left several coastal islands submerged under water and hundreds of lives and livelihoods are being lost every year, as floods, cyclones and storms intensify.
“Far too often climate change is dismissed as an issue for the future,” he added.
“But climate change is happening now, and is already destroying the lives some of the poorest people in the world.
“We are campaigning to show the devastating impact this is having on the lives of children in poorer countries like Bangladesh - whose childhoods are being washed away by climate change.
“Action Aid is working hard to support people to adapt and survive the worsening storms in Bangladesh, but we can’t do this alone.”
With the global climate talks in France taking place next week, ActionAid is urging the public to march in Edinburgh and London and demand that world leaders put the needs of countries like Bangladesh first.
As well as marching in London the charity will also have a unique digital advert at Piccadilly Circus.
The advert, developed with pro-bono support from communications agency Weber Shandwick and donated space from media owner Clear Channel UK, will appear every time it rains until the end of the month.
Read six reasons why you should attend Scotland's Climate March on Saturday.
