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HSBC Climate Confidence Index 2007

Contents

1 Foreword2 Executive Summary4 Creating a Consumer Index6 HSBC Climate Confidence Index 20078 Concern

10 Confidence14 Commitment16 Optimism18 Implications20 Contact information

HSBC Climate Partnership

HSBC financed a deal to provide1,800 low-emission buses to serve4.5 million passengers a day inSantiago, Chile.

Cover

Working with WWF and supported by HSBC, local communities use eco-fishing practices, which increase their income and reduce pollution onthe Yangtze River in China.

Sustainable fishing on the PurusRiver, near Sena Madureira inBrazil, supported by HSBC and itsenvironmental partner, WWF.

Sustainable fishing on the PurusRiver, near Sena Madureira inBrazil, supported by HSBC and itsenvironmental partner, WWF.

The HSBC Climate ConfidenceIndex 2007 is our first surveyof public attitudes to climatechange in nine of the world’smajor markets.

Financial institutions likeHSBC have an important part toplay in the transition to a low-carbon economy. HSBC’scarbon finance strategy aims tosupport businesses that aredeveloping cleaner,commercially viabletechnologies such as wind,solar, biofuels and landfill gascapture. As a result, low-carbonand renewables projects are anincreasingly important part ofour portfolio.

Like most major internationalcompanies, we measure andreport publicly on a range ofindicators, enabling us tomanage the environmentalimpact of our operations. Likemany businesses, we have also

set targets to reduce the amountof energy and water HSBCuses, and the waste and carbondioxide we produce. Under our Global EnvironmentalEfficiency Programme, we areinvesting US$90 million overthe next five years to help usachieve these targets. Inaddition, HSBC became carbonneutral from October 2005. We were the world’s first majorbank and the first FTSE 100company to do so.

Such indicators – especiallycarbon dioxide – are the hardmeasures of performance in theworld’s fight against climatechange. But as we start toaddress underlying causes anddevelop solutions, it is clear thatwe need a new, ‘softer’ set ofmeasures that chart our progressin engaging the most crucialelement of all: people. Acrossthe world, we need to ensure

that everyone feels he or shecan make a difference intackling this most critical of issues.

Engaging people –governments and businesses, aswell as individuals – incombating the causes andeffects of climate change is theaim of a new, US$100 millionenvironmental partnershiplaunched in May 2007. TheHSBC Climate Partnershipunites us with four of theworld's most respectedenvironmental organisations –The Climate Group, EarthwatchInstitute, the SmithsonianTropical Research Institute andWWF. Over the next five years,we will work together in someof the world’s great cities toinfluence policy and practice,and to engage HSBC’semployees, customers and thewider community.

Research that can guide us

and others adopting suchprogrammes is what the HSBCClimate Confidence Indexseeks to provide. The findingspresent a few surprises andmuch food for thought. Thelevels of commitment andoptimism, particularly indeveloping economies, providegreat encouragement.

For HSBC and for society atlarge, the challenge of climatechange is one we are only justbeginning to address. We needto find ways of reducing ourimpact on the environment andof involving people at everylevel. Instruments that allowus to chart our progress andtake the necessary steps willbe vital.

We do not pretend that thissurvey provides all the answers,but we hope it makes a usefulcontribution to promoting actionon climate change.

Foreword

HSBC Climate Confidence Index 2007 1

Stephen GreenGroup ChairmanHSBC Holdings plcJuly 2007

2 HSBC Climate Confidence Index 2007

Most striking is the contrastbetween developed anddeveloping economies. Theconventional picture, ofcommitted developed economiesand reluctant developing ones,is a myth. If that picture holdsat government level, theopposite is true for the people.Across the nine economies wesurveyed, it is in the developingeconomies that people show thegreatest concern, commitmentand optimism, and in thedeveloped economies thatpeople show the greatestindifference, reluctance andfatalism.

‘Green rejection’ – a rejectionof the problem, of solutions toit, and of the institutionsproposing them – is a growingissue in the developedeconomies. This may representa natural and temporary stage ofdisillusionment while people areasked to work hard atsomething with no visibleresult. However, there are signsthat the rejection is deeper thanthat. At the core are a strong-minded, generally younger,group of people, who are

confident with their personalinterpretation of climatescience, comfortable withuncertainty about the future,and suspicious of the motives of both governments andcompanies. While a minority,this is a growing constituencythat any climate-relatedinitiative needs to recognise.

Feeding this rejection is alack of popular consensus aboutwhat accepting the problemmeans. Across the nineeconomies we surveyed, only athird of people say that ‘if weall act now we can help stopclimate change for very littlecost or disruption.’ In almost alleconomies, slightly more peoplesay that ‘we should make a bigchange to all of our lifestylestoday to reduce climate change.’

Most people do declarethemselves prepared to makethese changes: 58% say theyare prepared to make changesto their lifestyle, 45% areprepared to spend extra time,and 28% are prepared to spendextra money to help reduceclimate change. The ranking ofthese commitments – lifestyle

first, time second and moneylast – is consistent in every one of the nine economiessurveyed.

People have a highassessment of the commitmentsthey are already making, andnot just in the developingeconomies. Across all nineeconomies, few people say theyare doing nothing; about four in10 acknowledge that they coulddo more; but already a furtherfour in 10 people say they aredoing as much as they can.Other research suggests that thejudgement of ‘as much as theycan’ may be driven both by asense of having no sparecapacity, and by lack ofawareness of what else theycould do.

By comparison, neithergovernments nor companies areseen to be doing what is neededtoday. It is to governments thatpeople would like to push theresponsibility: 68% of peoplethink that governments shouldplay the leading role inresponding to climate change,compared with 16% forindividuals, 10% for companies

and 6% for non-governmentalorganisations (NGOs). Only33% think that governmentscurrently play that role.

Will all these actions beenough? Again, the contrast isstriking between developing anddeveloped economies. Theproportion of people agreeingthat ‘we will stop climatechange’ varies from 45% inIndia and 39% in China, to only6% in the UK and 5% in France.

This pessimistic view givesan opportunity, and even amandate, to both governmentsand companies. Governmentsare clearly being asked to takea leadership role though, indeveloped economies, they needto overcome considerablesuspicion in order to do so.Companies are held lessaccountable, but have a clearopportunity to contribute, andto benefit by being seen to doso – if they can respondeffectively to the green rejectersand consumer priorities.

Executive SummaryThe HSBC ClimateConfidence Index2007 shows a worldof polarised attitudesto climate changeand to our responseto the issue. Climatechange may be aglobal issue, but thereactions to it varystrongly.


Attitudes to climate change are complexand cannot be summed up simply in onesentence. Our index measures attitudes onfour core scales to provide a profile ofpeople’s thinking on climate change.

Concernabout the issue.Climate change is thenumber one concern in thedeveloping economiessurveyed. It is the numberthree concern in Europeand the joint fourth withanother issue in the US.India (60%), Mexico (59%)and Brazil (58%) have thehighest levels of concernabout climate change, withthe lowest being the UK(22%) and Germany (26%).

Confidencein what is beingdone about it today.Overall confidence is low.China (46%) and HongKong SAR (38%) have thehighest confidence, withthe UK (5%), Germany (6%)and France (7%) the lowest.In Germany, the UK andChina, more than a third ofpeople think we should notbe individually trying to fixthe problem.

Commitmentpersonally to contribute today. People’s assessment of theircommitment is moderatelyhigh across the nineeconomies surveyed, withrelatively little variationaround the world despitedifferent circumstances.Brazil and India (both 47%)show the highestcommitment, with the UK(19%) and US (23%) thelowest. More people saythey are prepared to makechanges to their lifestyle tohelp reduce climate change(58%), than are prepared tospend extra time (45%) orextra money (28%).

Optimism that we will solvethe problem.Despite the highcommitment, belief that wewill stop climate change islow in most of the world,but with strong regionalvariations. Optimism ishighest in India (45%) andChina (39%), and lowest inFrance (5%) and the UK(6%). Mexico and Brazil,with similar scores to Indiaon the first three indexmeasures, are much lessoptimistic on this outcomemeasure (24% and 26%respectively).


Consumer responses to climate change are governed as much by their different perceptions of theproblems as their commitment to particular solutions. For this reason, there is no single number that canusefully measure ‘climate confidence’. Our index measures consumer attitudes on four core scales which,in combination, analyse thinking on climate change. Each scale is represented by a statement, with theindex being measured in terms of strength of agreement with that statement. The four scales andstatements are:

Creating a Consumer IndexThe HSBC Climate Confidence Index isdesigned to understand and measureconsumers’ attitudes and response to climate change across the world and over time. This first report is based onresearch conducted with 9,000 consumersacross nine economies in April 2007.

BrazilChinaFranceGermanyHong Kong SAR*IndiaMexicoUKUSA

Economies researched

Concern‘Climate change and how we respondto it are among the biggest issues Iworry about today.’

Confidence‘The people and organisations whoshould be doing something about climatechange are doing what is needed.’

Commitment‘I am personally making a significanteffort to help reduce climate changethrough how I live my life today.’

Optimism ‘I believe we will stop climate change.’

Through these four statements,we can find out: a. how people see the problem

of climate change; and b. what confidence they have in

the means used to tackle theproblem.

Both of these perspectives varybetween people and economies.Our report, therefore, focusesnot only on the levels of eachscore, but on the differentprofiles that people have acrossthe four scores.

*Subsequently referred to as Hong Kong.

The characteristics of thisresearch are:■ Its global scale, based on a

sample of 9,000 people acrossnine economies in fourcontinents.

■ Its potential as a trackingsurvey, monitoring trends inthese economies over time,for which this report is thebaseline.

■ The scope of its subject, fromperception of the issue toconfidence and involvementin the response, withsufficient depth to guidefuture action as well asmonitor progress.

■ The creation of a multi-dimensional index tocommunicate and interpret the findings.

The research and index havebeen designed in collaborationwith Lippincott – a brandconsulting firm with aspecialism in analysingconsumer attitudes tosustainability – building onprevious research and analysisfor The Climate Group, theCarbon Trust and the WorldBusiness Council forSustainable Development. Thefieldwork was completed byLightspeed in April 2007.

Research methodology

This section explains theresearch methodology thatmay be helpful in interpretingthe findings.

For the purposes of thisresearch, we defined climatechange for our respondents as‘a change in the earth’sclimate through humanactivity affecting thecomposition of theatmosphere, not just naturalvariations that may happen tothe climate.’

Our index scores measurethe strength of agreementwith each of the indexstatements on a seven-pointscale, from 1 (stronglydisagree) to 7 (strongly agree).In this report, scores areexpressed as percentages,which represent theproportion of people whoscored 6 or 7 on this scale.

We also asked an openquestion: ‘Do you haveanything to add with regardsto this topic?’ The unpromptedcomments quoted throughoutthis report are taken from

responses to this question.Since the field methodology

used is internet-based, we willhave achieved a morerepresentative sample of thepopulation in developedeconomies than indeveloping economies whereour sample is biased towardsmore affluent individuals.Across the differenteconomies, the sample forthis survey is as follows:

■ UK, USA: nationallyrepresentative

■ France, Germany, Mexico,Brazil: higher socio-economic groups

■ India, China and Hong Kong:urban ‘mass affluent’

A potential concern fromthis could be that the viewsfrom the developedeconomies might not becomparable to those fromdeveloping economiesbecause the income segmentsin the two categories are verydifferent. To test this effect, wehave looked at how responsesvary by income level within

the sample for each economy.Variations by income aresmall, with no systemicpattern. In the two countrieswhere we have a nationallyrepresentative sample, we findresponses climbing slightlywith income in the US anddipping slightly with income inthe UK. Within the massaffluent sample, we findresponses climbing slightlywith income in China anddipping slightly with income inIndia. Most importantly,however, these differences aresmall compared with thedifferences betweeneconomies.

Within the scope of thepopulations sampled, we aretherefore confident that theresults presented here are validand can usefully be comparedbetween economies. However,since the lower-income groupsin the developing economieshave not been surveyed, wecannot make any statementsabout them, nor can ourfindings make anyassumptions about them.



Key findings■ Concern about climate

change is high, especially indeveloping economies, andso is people’s individualcommitment to address it.

■ Confidence in what is beingdone today, however, isgenerally low, with Chinaand Hong Kong beingexceptions. Low optimismreflects this lack ofconfidence: most people do not ‘believe we will stop climate change’.

■ Attitudes differ far morebetween economies thanthey do between differentages, incomes or genderwithin each.

While there are strikingdifferences between theeconomies, it is not just a caseof one being further ahead orbehind on some linear scale of engagement with the issue.The four elements of the HSBC Climate ConfidenceIndex reveal different ways that people, or countries, are engaged. Across the nine economies surveyed, we see four distinct profiles on the index.

HSBC Climate Confidence Index 2007

France 37% 7% 30% 5%

UK 22% 5% 19% 6%

Germany 26% 6% 25% 11%

Sceptical

pessimists

Committed

concerned

Committed

confident

Mexico 59% 14% 43% 24%

Brazil 58% 14% 47% 26%

India 60% 19% 47% 45%

China 47% 46% 44% 39%

Hong Kong 46% 38% 37% 30%

USA 32% 13% 23% 18% Sceptical

optimists

Concern Confidence Commitment Optimism

Climate changeand how werespond to it are among thebiggest issues I worry abouttoday.

The people andorganisationswho should bedoing some-thing about climate changeare doing whatis needed.

I am personallymaking a significant effortto help reduce climate changethrough how I live my lifetoday.

I believe we willstop climatechange.

Fewerthan 1 in10 agrees

1 in 10peopleagrees

1 in 4 peopleagrees

1 in 3 peopleagrees

Half of all peopleagree

Figure 1

Percentages represent

people scoring 6-7 on a

1-7 scale of agreement

with each of the four

index statements.

1Sceptical pessimists

Sceptical pessimists aremoderately concerned aboutclimate change, but have noconfidence that the people andorganisations who should bedoing something about it todayare doing what is needed. As aresult, even though they may besomewhat committed personally,they do not believe we will stopclimate change. The economiesshowing this overall profile arethose in Western Europe:France, the UK and Germany.

A typical sceptical pessimist’scomment is: ‘I feel governmentsand large companies are notdoing enough as they are onlyconcerned with themselves andtheir profits.’ Some commentsare also sceptical about climatechange itself.

2Sceptical optimists

Sceptical optimists show similarmoderate levels of concern andindividual commitment. Whatsets them apart is theirrelatively greater (but stilllimited) confidence that whatshould be being done today isbeing done, and associatedgreater (but still limited)optimism that we will stopclimate change. This is theprofile shown by the US (NewYork, Miami and San Franciscoshow this profile, with Chicagocloser to the scepticalpessimists.) Comments fromrespondents suggest that thegreater confidence andoptimism shown by this groupcome not from a greater beliefin what people are doing, butfrom a lesser belief in theproblem itself – and therefore alower expectation of what needsto be done.

Typical sceptical optimists’comments are: ‘Personally, Ithink this issue has beenoverdone’ and ‘I think the earthwill readjust itself.’

3Committed concerned

The committed concerned arethe most engaged showing, byfar, the highest levels ofconcern. They have only limitedconfidence in what is beingdone today, but among thehighest individual commitment.The degree of optimismresulting from this contrastingmix of limited confidence andhigh commitment varies. Theeconomies showing this profileare Mexico, Brazil and India,with the latter having thegreatest optimism.

A typical comment from thecommitted concerned is: ‘Istrongly believe that helping tochange the environment is firstand foremost in the hands ofeach individual.’

4Committed confident

The committed confident arehigh scorers across the index.They are concerned andcommitted, but what sets themapart is their confidence thatpeople and organisations arealready doing what is needed.This confidence translates intorelatively high optimism that wewill stop climate change. Theeconomies showing this profileare China and Hong Kong.

Typical comments from thecommitted confident are: ‘Ithink if we try it together allover the world, we can do it’and ‘All people will join in toimprove the global environment.’



Key findings■ Climate change is the

number one concern in thedeveloping economiessurveyed. It is the numberthree concern in Europeand the joint fourth with another issue in the US.

■ India (60%), Mexico (59%)and Brazil (58%) have thehighest levels of concernabout climate change, withthe UK (22%) and Germany(26%) the lowest.

■ People see climate changeas a concern for the future,not an immediate risk. Yet it is generally the young –who would be mostaffected – who are leastconcerned.

Our index statement for concernis: ‘Climate change and how werespond to it are among thebiggest issues I worry abouttoday.’

We saw a large range ofagreement, from India where60% of respondents stronglyagreed (scored 6 or 7 on a 1-7scale of agreement), to the UKwhere only 22% of respondentsstrongly agreed. The strikingfinding is the difference betweenhigh concern in developingeconomies and much lowerconcern in developed economies.

Could this concern be drivenby a survey bias? Are respondentsin some economies simply moregenerous in their scoring? Partlyto check for this effect, we alsoasked people to rank theirconcern about a list of worldissues. The ranking adjusts anydifference in scoring, sinceeverybody names a top issue.

In the ranking, climate changeemerged as the number one issue– i.e. it was ranked first by morepeople than any other issue – inall developing economies butone, and in no developedeconomies. Compared with

terrorism, children’s future,global poverty, planning for laterretirement, healthcare, pandemicdisease and natural disasters,climate change was clearly thedominant issue in Brazil, Mexicoand Hong Kong. In China, it wasalso number one, though closelyfollowed by children’s future. InIndia, it took second place toterrorism.

In the developed economies,climate change is the numberthree concern, behind terrorismand children’s future, in the threeEuropean economies tested. Onlyin the US did climate changerank lower – behind terrorism,healthcare, planning for laterretirement, and equal tochildren's future.

The post-green generation?

The concern that people have isnot immediate. Overall, 72% ofpeople agree that ‘climate changewill affect our children, if notourselves’, while fewer than60% agree that ‘climate changeis likely to affect me and otherswhere I live.’ In terms of whowill be most affected, it wouldbe logical for younger age

groups to be most concerned.Only in the US is concern

strongest in the younger agegroups. In the developingeconomies, it rises slightly withage and, in Europe, it risesstrongly. The lowest concern inEurope – the scores that bringdown the European averagecompared with the developingworld – is in the youngest age

groups. Concern among the 50+age group is stronger in Europethan in the US; among the 18-24age group, it is only half asstrong in Europe as in the US.

Within the younger groups inEurope are a growing number ofpeople who are confident abouttheir personal interpretation ofclimate science, comfortable withuncertainty about the future, and

Concern

France

UK

Germany

USA

Mexico

Brazil

India

China

Hong Kong

0 %

Proportion of people scoring 6-7 on a 1-7 scale of agreement

Average = 43%

10 20 30 40 50 60

Figure 2

‘Climate change and how we respond to it are among the

biggest issues I worry about today’

suspicious of the motives of bothgovernments and companies.Typical unprompted commentsfrom the 18-24 age group in theUK are:■ ‘It has been proven that

[climate change] is natural andis a change the Earth must gothrough. We should stopinterfering with the naturalcourse of things.’

■ ‘The science underlyingclimate change is manipulatedfor political purposes and, as ascience student, I believe manyof the claims made about thecauses of climate change areunfounded.’

■ ‘Carbon makes up only afraction of the world’satmosphere. It seems to methat the government is playing

on the climate thing to instilfear in the population, thususing it to charge more taxes.’

The ‘green rejection’ that isincreasingly visible is more than‘green fatigue’. Green fatiguedescribes people’s reaction to anexcess of choice created by theincreasing clutter of greencommunications and offers. What

we are describing here is a morefundamental rejection, by a vocalminority, of the premise onwhich those communications andoffers are based.

In Germany, where ‘green’ hasbeen in the consumer mainstreamfor longest, the rejection is notcoming from the older generation‘fatigued’ by decades of greenmessages they no longer buy; it

is coming from the youngergeneration who has never boughtthose messages.


Age group

% respondents scoring 6-7 on a 1-7 scale of agreement

018-24 25-34 35-49 50+

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Developing economiesEuropean economiesUSA

Figure 3

Ranking of concern about the following list of world issues

Climatechange

Children’sfuture

Global poverty

Planning forlater retirement

Healthcare

PandemicdiseaseNatural

disasters

Terrorism

Total USA France UK Germany Mexico Brazil China India Hong Kong

0 20 40 0 20 40 0 20 40 0 20 40 0 20 40 0 20 40 0 20 40 0 20 40 0 20 40 0 20 40

% respondents ranking as number 1 Biggest concern (if not climate change)Climate change

Figure 4

Concern about climate change by age group


Our index statement for confi-dence is: ‘The people and organ-isations who should be doingsomething about climate changeare doing what is needed.’

Again, we saw a large rangeof scores, from China where46% of respondents stronglyagreed (scored 6 or 7 on a 1-7 scale of agreement), to the UK where only 5% of

respondents strongly agreed. Across the economies

surveyed, there are divergentviews about what is needed.When asked ‘which bestdescribes your view on how weshould respond to climatechange?’, most economies werefairly evenly split between ‘Weshould make a big change to allof our lifestyles today to reduce

climate change’ (41% onaverage) and ‘If we all act nowwe can help stop climate changefor very little cost or disruption’(35% on average). The formerled in the developed economiesand the two were fairly balancedin the developing economies.

More striking is theproportion of people who choseother statements to the effect

that we should not try to fix theproblem. In Germany, the UKand China, more than one thirdof people chose one of thesestatements as best describingtheir view on climate change.

Who are the people andorganisations who should bedoing something? Across theworld, people placeresponsibility squarely with

Confidence

France

UK

Germany

USA

Mexico

Brazil

India

China

Hong Kong

0 %10 20 30 40 50

Average = 18%


Key findings■ Confidence in what is being

done today is the lowest ofour four index scores inmost of the economiessurveyed.

■ China (46%) and HongKong (38%) have thehighest confidence, withthe UK (5%), Germany (6%)and France (7%) the lowest.

■ The picture is complicatedby huge differences of viewabout what should bedone. In Germany, the UKand China, more than athird of people think weindividually should not tryto fix the problem.

■ Responsibility is placedsquarely with governments:68% of people saygovernments should playthe leading role inresponding to climatechange; only 33% think thatthey are actually doing so.

Total

France

UK

Germany

USA

Mexico

Brazil

India

China

Hong Kong

0 20 40 60 80 100

% respondents ranking as most important

Figure 5

‘The people and organisations who should be doing

something about climate change are doing what is needed.’

Figure 6

‘Which best describes your view on how we should

respond to climate change?’

governments: 68% of peoplesay governments should play theleading role in responding toclimate change. Only 33% thinkthat they are doing so, withleadership currently taken byNGOs.


Make a big change:

We should make a big change to all of our lifestyles today to reduce climate change

Impact with a small change:

If we all act now, we can help stop climate change for very little cost or disruption

Don’t try:

It is not our role to try to interfere with the earth’s climate

The earth’s ability to self-regulate will solve climate change

We should adapt to a changing climate, not try to stop it from changing

Scientists will find a technological solution to climate change

The problem of climate change is impossiblefor us to try to fix in our lifetime

If climate change becomes a problem for me, I will just move somewhere else

With HSBC’s support, theSmithsonian Tropical Research

Institute is conducting a field experiment on the quality and

quantity of water flow in thePanama Canal, one of the

world’s most important waterways for commerce.

Figure 7

‘Who do you think is currently, and should be,

playing the leading role?’

Government/regulators

Companies/businesses

Individuals

NGOs

0 20 40 60 80

% respondents ranking as number 1

Is currently doing(All economies)

Should be(All economies)

0 20 40 60 80


Fighting fatalism

Germany, the UK and China allshow a fatalistic response toclimate change, with over athird of people choosing astatement about not trying to fixthe problem. But the specificresponses, and the attitudes thatappear to be behind them, aredifferent in the three.

Germany shows the mostpessimistic form of fatalism,with most of the ‘don’t try’respondents saying that ‘theproblem of climate change is

impossible for us to try to stop’.This is mostly because of adisbelief about humans’ role incausing climate change, andtherefore our role in preventing it.Typical unprompted commentsfrom Germany are:■ ‘These are natural phenomena,

which are now being used topart us from our money. Manwon’t be able to stop it.’

■ ‘There has always beenclimate change (e.g. ice age);we will probably not be ableto stop this.’

This attitude also reflectsdoubt about the reality of theworldwide effort that is needed:■ ‘Stopping climate change is

nonsense. We can’t persuadethe developing countries toreduce the emission ofhazardous substances now,when we ourselves haven’tdone anything about it fordecades. So we shouldprepare ourselves for theconsequences.’In the UK, these attitudes also

exist (9% of people), but so

does another form of fatalism:the view that the earth shouldbe left to adapt. In the UK, 18%of people said that the statementbest describing their view waseither ‘We should adapt to achanging climate, not try tostop it happening’ (11%), or‘The earth’s ability to self-regulate will solve climatechange’ (7%). These attitudesare summed up in theunprompted comment: ‘I believewhat will be will be.’

In China, responses weremore evenly spread, but thelargest percentage (9%) wasthat ‘scientists will find atechnological solution’. Thisreflects a range of unpromptedcomments in China thatexpress non-specific butoptimistic hope.

What role for business?

Who should take the leading rolein responding to climate change?

In geographical terms, theglobal consensus is that theleading role lies with thedeveloped, rather thandeveloping, economies. Thedeveloped economies should 0 5 10 15 20 250 5 10 15 20 250 5 10 15 20 25

% respondents ranking as most important

Germany UK ChinaIt is not our role to try

to interfere with the earth’s climate

The earth’s ability to self-regulate will

solve climate change

We should adapt toa changing climate,

not try to stop it

Scientists will find a technological solution to

climate change

The problem of climate change is impossible

for us to try to stop

If climate changebecomes a problem

for me, I will just move

Figure 8

‘Which best describes your view on how we should respond to climate change?’

(Only ‘Don’t try’ options shown here)

Paul’s Hill wind farm in Scotlandwas financed by HSBC and is an example of the projects theGroup is supporting under itscarbon finance strategy.

play the lead (85% agree) and,indeed, do so today (78% agree).

In organisational terms, peoplegive most responsibility togovernments, with only 10%saying that businesses shouldplay the leading role. While thisrole for business is secondary togovernments everywhere, itdiffers substantially betweendeveloped economies, where15% say that businesses should

play the leading role, anddeveloping economies, whereonly 5% say so.

Within business, peopleoverwhelmingly associateresponsibility with energycompanies (71%). Other majorhigh-carbon sectors come adistant second and third: carmanufacturers (11% overall, ledby the US, Brazil and China) andairlines (7% overall, led by

Europe, particularly the UK).Farmers are seen almosteverywhere to be playing aleading role today, but should not be doing so.

As significant are the businesssectors that are not seen to havea leading role to play. Retailerscan have a huge influence onthe choices that people make intheir consumption which relateto climate change, but only 1%

of people give them the leadingrole. Builders can have an evengreater influence on our energydemand through buildingconstruction and design – sincebuildings represent up to 30%of world energy use – but only2% of people give them theleading role.


France

UK

Germany

US

Mexico

Brazil

India

China

Hong Kong

0 %5 10 15 20

Average = 10%


Energy

Airlines

Banks

Farmers

Builders

Retailers

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

% respondents ranking issue as number 1

Carmanufacturers

Figure 9

‘Businesses should play the leading role in responding to climate

change (compared with governments, individuals and NGOs)’

Figure 10

‘Who do you think should be playing the leading role?’

(all economies)


Our index statement forcommitment is: ‘I ampersonally making a significanteffort to help reduce climatechange through how I live mylife today.’

Despite the very differentcircumstances in which peoplelive their lives, this is the indexscore in which we saw leastregional variation. However, agap exists between developingand developed economies, withthe developing economiesbetween 37% and 47% inagreement (percentage ofrespondents scoring 6 or 7 on a1-7 scale of agreement), and thedeveloped economies between19% and 30% in agreement.

Across all the economiessurveyed, few people say theydo nothing, or do not knowwhat to do, to help reduceclimate change. Four in 10people acknowledge that theycould do more, while a furtherfour in 10 say they are alreadydoing as much as they can.

The consistency of thesenumbers across the world isremarkable. The percentage ofpeople saying they are already

doing as much as they canvaries only between 33% (theUS and Brazil) and 50% (Indiaand Hong Kong) – a narrowband given the variety oflifestyles as well as attitudes,and a high percentage given thedegree of scepticism that existsabout the issue. People appearto define ‘as much as they can’ according to theircircumstances, which raises thequestion of what will motivatethem to reassess. It is difficultto accept that this 33%-50% ofpeople are already doing ‘asmuch as they can’; thechallenge is to help them todiscover how they can do more,either through new choiceswithout significant cost, orthrough new choices withimmediate benefits they value.

What people say they areleast prepared to do is to spendmoney on the problem. In eachof the nine economies wesurveyed, more people say theyare prepared to make changes totheir lifestyle to help reduceclimate change (58%), than areprepared to spend extra time(45%) or extra money (28%).

CommitmentKey findings■ People’s assessment of

their commitment ismoderately high across thenine economies surveyed.Of the four index statements, it is the one most closelyrelated to people’sindividual circumstances,yet it shows the leastvariation across the world.

■ Brazil and India (both 47%) show the highestcommitment, with the UK(19%) and the US (23%) the lowest.

■ More people say they areprepared to make changesto their lifestyle to helpreduce climate change(58%), than are prepared to spend extra time (45%)or extra money (28%). This result holds true inevery one of the economiessurveyed.

0

20

40

60

80

100

%

All economies

Figure 11

‘Which of the following statements best

reduce climate change?’

HSBC employees test sea watersamples in Brazil’s CananéiaEstuary during an Earthwatchresearch project.


France

UK

Germany

USA

Mexico

Brazil

India

China

Hong Kong

0 %10 20 30 40 50

Average = 35%


‘I do as much as I can’

‘I do some things but could do more’

‘I know what I can do, but don’t do anything at the moment’

‘I don’t know what I can do

to help reduce climate change’

41%

42%

9%

7%

0 %10 20 30 40 50 60

Figure 12

‘I am personally making a significant effort to help reduce

climate change through how I live my life today’

describe what you personally do to help

Figure 13

‘I am prepared to…’


Our index statement foroptimism is: ‘I believe we willstop climate change.’

After analysing concern,confidence and commitment,will we succeed? The shortanswer is ‘no’. Across the nineeconomies surveyed, fewer thanone in four people stronglybelieves that we will stopclimate change.

India (45%) and China (39%)are the most optimistic, but fordifferent reasons. India’soptimism derives from theworld’s highest concern and theworld’s highest commitment,compensating for a fairly criticalview of what is being done today.Typical unprompted commentsfrom India reaffirm individualresponsibility and commitment,and the cumulative impact ofindividuals acting together:■ ‘It’s not the responsibility

of government, business orenvironmental organisationsonly…every individual has to act.’

■ ‘In Indian households, everyindividual can contributetowards reducing climatechange.’

■ ‘Stopping climate changestarts from our homes first,then from our society,followed by our companiesand others.’

■ ‘If every person at homestarts to create a pollution-free atmosphere, that streetwill be clean and good. Ifevery street is good, the citywill be clean. If every city isclean, the nation will be cleanwithout any pollution and,finally, if every nation is freefrom pollution, the world willbe free from pollution. So itstarts from a single personcontributing to this pollution-free atmosphere.’

China’s optimism also reflectshigh concern and commitmentbut, in particular, reflects theworld’s highest confidence inwhat is being done today.Typical unprompted commentsfrom China speak much lessabout individual responsibilityand more about hope for whatthe government will achieve:■ ‘Governments shall lead

people to stop climatechange.’

■ ‘Governments should play themain role in finding asolution as they can passrelevant laws, which will bemuch more effective thanimproving public awareness.’

■ ‘The strength of theindividual is always limited. Ihope that the government andrelevant departments can

mobilise everyone to take upthe cause.’

■ ‘To fight climate change, thegovernment should be theleader, and the big companiesand organisations will bepioneers. People all over theworld should be thefollowers.’

OptimismKey findings■ Belief that ‘we will stop

climate change’ is low inmost of the world, but withstrong regional variations.

■ This belief is highest inIndia (45%) and China(39%), and lowest in France(5%) and the UK (6%).

■ Mexico and Brazil, whosescores are similar to India’son the first three indexmeasures, are much lessoptimistic on this outcomemeasure (24% and 26%respectively).

France

UK

Germany

USA

Mexico

Brazil

India

China

Hong Kong

0 %10 20 30 40 50

Average = 23%


Figure 14

‘I believe we will stop climate change.’

For the Chinese, governmentsare not only the answer, but arealready active. While people inall economies say it isgovernments that should beplaying the leading role, it isonly in China (65%), togetherwith Hong Kong (62%), thatpeople see governments alreadydoing this. This is not aspecific view of their owngovernment; even more Chineseagree that ‘governments aroundthe world are doing what isneeded’ than that ‘thegovernment of my country isdoing what is needed.’

At the least optimistic end ofthe scale, for France (5%) andthe UK (6%) the critical issuedriving the lack of optimism isthe low confidence score.Typical unprompted commentsfrom France reflect a lack ofconfidence in the necessarypolitical will, and scepticismabout motivation in governmentand big business:■ ‘At the global level, there is

no political will for change;all the principal players inpolitical life don’t give adamn about it.’

■ ‘The government and the fuellobby are in large measureresponsible for the bad habitsof everyone.’

■ ‘Political decisions and thepressure from large industrymake me think that we arebeing manipulated…Everything revolves aroundmoney.’

In the UK, there are similarsentiments about governmentand big business, but also agreater level of denial thathuman-induced climate changeis happening in the first place.The attitude is that if we did notstart it, we are less likely to beable to stop it. Typicalunprompted comments from the UK are:■ ‘Governments and large

companies are not doingenough as they are onlyconcerned with themselvesand their profits.’

■ ‘Most people cannot afford to pay their everyday livingexpenses so I feel it is up to the institutions who makebillions from selling theirproducts to help reducepackaging and waste, andprovide fuel-efficient vehicles and services.’

■ ‘Climate change has beenhappening since creation. It is vastly over-hyped and anatural phenomenon.’

■ ‘The evidence I have seen andread does not support thegreenhouse effect.’

The scores of Mexico andBrazil are similar to India’s onthe first three index measures(though with somewhat lowerconfidence), but are much lessoptimistic on this outcomemeasure (24% and 26%respectively). So why do theyhave a less positiveinterpretation?

For Mexico, the strongesttheme in unprompted commentsis about the need for moreinformation, which featuresmuch more prominently than inother economies:■ ‘I would like more

information on the topic inschools.’

■ ‘There needs to be moreinformation…and ideas onhow lower income people canhelp in other ways.’

■ ‘There should be morecampaigns to inform thepopulation.’

For Brazil, the strongesttheme in unprompted commentsis about how progress dependsnot on Brazil but on the bigcarbon dioxide emitters,specifically the US and China,and their multinationals, and thebelief that they are unlikely toact sufficiently: ■ ‘The industrialised countries,

which should invest heavily,will not do so to thedetriment of their financialprofit…check out the US andnowadays also China.’

■ ‘Countries like the US andChina should be subjected tosanctions until they alignthemselves with the requestedstandards.’

■ ‘Climate change will not bedeterred because the leadingcountries will not make thenecessary changes at the ratethey should be made.’



Implications for

governments

Consumers are givinggovernments a clear mandatefor leadership in every one ofthe economies surveyed. Ifgovernments are waiting forconsumer action first to ensuretheir regulatory interventionshave popular legitimacy, thenconsumers are waiting forgovernment action first toensure their individualinterventions have sufficientscale to be effective. Even inIndia, where belief in thecollective power of individualactions is strongest and wherethere is least tendency todelegate to the government,59% of people think that thegovernment should be playingthe leading role, compared withonly 27% for individuals.

The challenge forgovernments in the developedeconomies is to take up thismandate in a way thatengenders trust. While people indeveloping economies areasking for information fromtheir governments, people indeveloped economies are not

accepting it from theirs.Governments will need toexplain better that their realmotive is not to levy more orhigher taxes. They should aimfor revenue-neutral taxinitiatives, which shift taxexplicitly to another areawithout increasing it overall.

Governments in all economiesshould be aware of the strengthof feeling voiced by people inthe developing economies.Governments in developedeconomies are the direct targetof criticism. Governments indeveloping economies are notso criticised as those indeveloped economies, but arenone the less under pressurefrom their people to take thelocal lead.

Implications for companies

Based on this research,companies may seem to be lessunder the spotlight. The numberof people saying that companiesshould take the leading role isrelatively small. It is highest inFrance, but even that is only18% compared with 63% sayingthat the government should takemore of a leading role.However, the research indicatesa desire for companies to domore. In every economy exceptthe US and the UK, people saythat companies should takemore of a leading role than theydo today.

The research makes twopoints for companies. Theprimary message for companiesis one of opportunity. They canhelp people to take action, giventheir high level of commitment.The challenge is that people areleast ready to spend money onhelping to reduce climatechange, compared with otheractions. In terms of climate-friendly choices that companiesoffer to customers, theimperative is therefore eithersolutions with no additional cost

ImplicationsThe implications of the consumer attitudespresented here are challenging for bothgovernments and companies. Governmentsand corporations are blamed for not doingenough. However, when they do act, theyare blamed – at least in the developedeconomies – for cynically exaggerating theissue for financial gain, in levying moretaxes by government and making moreprofits by companies. So what cangovernments and companies learn fromthis survey?

to the customer, e.g. sustainablepractices and materials builtinto business-as-usual, orsolutions with a direct valuebeyond the benefit to the planet.The continuing growth ofpremium-priced organic food isan example of what can beachieved when there is a directand immediate benefit to theconsumer, as well as a longer-term sustainability benefit.

The second message forcompanies is the need tocommunicate the constructivesteps they are taking insustainability without feedingthe ‘green rejection’ group,especially in developedeconomies. In practice, thismeans understanding customers’attitudes and priorities in asegmented way, and targetingdifferent propositions andmessages at different people.This is, of course, normalmarketing practice, but it differsfrom a conventional corporateresponsibility perspective. Giventhe polarisation of attitudesdemonstrated by this survey, amultinational business trying toengage its customers and other

stakeholders in initiatives onclimate change needs to targetits actions and messages carefully.

Low carbon transport such as thebicycle needs to form a key part of

the climate change solution, saidHSBC at the launch of the HSBC

Climate Partnership in May 2007.

HSBC Climate Confidence Index 2007HSBC Climate Confidence Index 2007 19

For more information, contact:

Nhan Chiem

Senior ManagerGroup CommunicationsHSBC Holdings plc8 Canada Square London E14 5HQUnited Kingdom

HSBC Climate Partnership

Most of the photos in this report show projects under the HSBCClimate Partnership, a five-year, US$100 million programme to tackle the urgent threat of climate change worldwide involvingThe Climate Group, Earthwatch Institute, Smithsonian TropicalResearch Institute and WWF. The partnership will work in some of the world’s major cities to influence climate change policyand practice, and to engage HSBC’s global workforce, customers and the wider community.

Learn more at: www.hsbc.com/committochange

Photography

Cover: Zhou Huaikuan/WWF-ChinaInside front cover Main picture: Edward Parker/ WWF/CanonInset: Ito Cornelsen

Page 11: Christian ZieglerPage 14: Brent Stirton/Getty Images/WWFPage 20: Marcos Guerra/STRI

HSBC Climate Confidence Index 200720 HSBC Climate Confidence Index 2007

Smithsonian researchers measure a tree on Barro Colorado Island in

Panama as part of a field experimenton climate change, supported by the

HSBC Climate Partnership.

Smithsonian researchers measure a tree on Barro Colorado Island in

Panama as part of a field experimenton climate change, supported by the

HSBC Climate Partnership.

© Copyright HSBC Holdings plc 2007All rights reserved

No part of this publication may bereproduced, stored in a retrievalsystem, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,mechanical, photocopying,recording, or otherwise, without theprior written permission of HSBCHoldings plc.

Designed by Group Communications,HSBC Holdings plc, London. 07/07

Printed by Pureprint Group Limited,Uckfield, UK, on Revive 50:50 Silkpaper using vegetable oil-basedinks. Made in Italy, the papercomprises 50% virgin fibre, 25% de-inked post-consumer waste and25% pre-consumer waste. Pulpsused are elemental chlorine-free.

The FSC logo identifies productswhich contain wood from well-managed forests certified inaccordance with the rules of theForest Stewardship Council.

Issued by HSBC Holdings plcGroup Corporate Sustainability8 Canada SquareLondon E14 5HQUnited KingdomTelephone: 44 020 7991 8888Facsimile: 44 020 7992 4880Web: www.hsbc.com

Mixed SourcesSGS-COC-0620© 1996 Forest Stewardship Council A.C.

www.hsbc.com/committochange

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