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Climate change still seen as the top global security concern - Pew Research Centre Report

Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Mar 2019

Climate change is the top security concern in a poll conducted by the Washington-based Pew Research Centre. It is followed by Islamist terrorism and cyber attacks. In 13 of 26 countries, people listed climate change as the top global threat, with the Islamic State militant group topping the list in eight and cyber attacks in four countries, the non-profit, non-partisan body said in its report.
 
Concern about climate change has been growing since 2013, with double-digit percentage point increases seen in countries including the US, Mexico, France, Britain, South Africa and Kenya, according to the poll of 27,612 people conducted between May and August 2018.
 
North Korea’s nuclear programme and the global economy were also significant concerns, while respondents in Poland named Russian power and influence as the top threat.
 
The largest shift in sentiment centered on the US, it said, with a median of 45% of people naming US power and influence as a threat in 2018, up from 25% in 2013, when Barack Obama was the US president.
 
In 10 countries, including Germany, Japan and South Korea, roughly half of respondents or more saw US power and influence as a major threat to their nation, up from eight in 2017 and three in 2013, the poll showed.
 
In Mexico, where those concerns have spiked since the election of US President Donald Trump, the figure jumped to 64%, the poll showed.
 
In 2018, a median of 61% of respondents across all countries represented viewed cyber attacks as a serious concern, up from 54% in 2017.
 
The number of countries that saw Islamic State as a threat fell by double-digit percentage points in Israel, Spain, the US and Japan.
 
Across the five Asia Pacific countries surveyed, cyber attacks, climate change and ISIS are all mentioned as top concerns by at least one country.
 
In Japan, the top concern is cyber attacks, while in South Korea and Australia, it is climate change. ISIS is named as the top threat in the Philippines and Indonesia, nations where Islamic extremist violence has occurred frequently over the past 15 years.
 
Respondents from Asia Pacific also expressed concern about North Korea’s nuclear programme and China’s power and influence.
 
In South Korea, more rate China’s power as a major threat (82%) than the DPRK’s nuclear programme (67%). Since 2013, concern about North Korea has fallen substantially in South Korea, from 82% in 2013 to 67% in 2018.
 
Over that time, perceptions of China as a threat have grown in four of the nations surveyed in the region, particularly in Australia (up 20 points) and Indonesia (up 16). M 
 
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