--- title: U.S. and China Less Worried About Climate Change Than Others description: According to a survey from the Pew Research Center. canonical: https://time.com/4102754/climate-change-us-china-pew-survey/ author: Julia Zorthian article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-11-06T15:26:51.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T12:24:34.562Z article:section: Science og:title: U.S. and China Less Worried About Climate Change Than Many Other Countries og:description: According to a new Pew survey og:url: https://time.com/4102754/climate-change-us-china-pew-survey/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt20796f8038d92431/69886fed8e06010426463343/china-smog.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: china-smog og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: U.S. and China Less Worried About Climate Change Than Many Other Countries twitter:description: According to a new Pew survey twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt20796f8038d92431/69886fed8e06010426463343/china-smog.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # U.S. and China Less Worried About Climate Change Than Many Other Countries  by [Julia Zorthian](https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Nov 6, 2015 3:26 PM UTC  Children wearing face masks walk in heavy smog in Harbin, China on Nov. 3, 2015. Children wearing face masks walk in heavy smog in Harbin, China on Nov. 3, 2015.ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images  by [Julia Zorthian](https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Nov 6, 2015 3:26 PM UTC Most people surveyed across the world are concerned about climate change, while the U.S. and China are less worried than people in many other countries, a new [survey ](http://www.pewglobal.org/2015/11/05/global-concern-about-climate-change-broad-support-for-limiting-emissions/)found. The majorities in all 40 countries polled by the Pew Research Center said they are aware of the “significant challenge” climate change poses, with a median of 54% of people characterizing it as a “very serious” problem. That concern is less intense in the U.S. and China, the two countries that emit the most greenhouse gasses, where 45% and 18% of people respectively said climate change was “very serious.” Pew, which [surveyed between 900 and more than 3,500 people](http://www.pewglobal.org/international-survey-methodology/?year%5Fselect=2015) in each of the 40 countries, released the results just a few weeks before political leaders [meet in Paris](http://time.com/4077597/kerry-climate-speech/) for a United Nations conference to reach a climate agreement. A world median of 78% support their countries limiting greenhouse gas emissions as a result of the Paris talks, Pew found. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4102754/climate-change-us-china-pew-survey/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4102754/climate-change-us-china-pew-survey/"},"headline":"U.S. and China Less Worried About Climate Change Than Many Other Countries","datePublished":"2015-11-06T15:26:51.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T12:24:34.562Z","description":"According to a new Pew survey","url":"https://time.com/4102754/climate-change-us-china-pew-survey/","keywords":["climate change"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt20796f8038d92431/69886fed8e06010426463343/china-smog.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Julia Zorthian","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt20796f8038d92431/69886fed8e06010426463343/china-smog.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"china-smog","caption":"HARBIN, CHINA - NOVEMBER 03: (CHINA OUT) Two children wearing face masks walk in heavy smog on November 3, 2015 in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province of China. 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