Earth Day has long been a moment to reflect on our relationship with the planet, but in 2026 that reflection feels more immediate than ever. Climate change is no longer a distant concern. Today, 75% say they feel its impact in their daily lives, making the findings of the Ipsos People and Climate Change 2026 report impossible to ignore. At the same time, 61% say that if individuals do not act now, future generations will be failed.
This captures the central tension of Earth Day 2026: climate change is more present in people’s lives than ever before, but how to respond is becoming less clear.
How we got here
To understand this shift, it helps to look back. In 2021, 72% believed individuals needed to act to avoid failing future generations, alongside 68% for businesses and 65% for governments. This remained relatively high in 2022, before declining to 63% in 2023 and 62% in 2024, reaching 61% in 2026. This represents an 11-point drop over five years, a gradual but consistent shift in how people see their role in climate action.
Fewer are convinced that individual action alone is enough
What makes the 2026 findings stand out is the combination of two trends. On one hand, 75% say they feel vulnerable to climate change. On the other hand, 61% say individuals must act. Compared to 2021, when 72% believed in individual responsibility, this points to a clear shift: more people are experiencing the effects of climate change, yet fewer are convinced that individual action alone is enough.
Climate change in a world of competing priorities
The 2026 report also needs to be read alongside broader Ipsos data. In What Worries the World 2026, climate change ranks around 11th among the issues people say worry about them most, behind inflation, crime and unemployment. At the same time, it remains the number one global risk** for the next five to ten years, according to the Ipsos/AXA Future Risks Report 2025, based on a global survey of around 23,000 citizens and 3,595 risk experts across more than 50 countries.
This contrast is key to understanding public opinion today. Climate change is widely recognised as a serious long-term threat, but it competes with more immediate concerns that shape what people focus on day to day.
Expectations are clear, confidence is not
As views on individual responsibility evolve, expectations are increasingly shifting toward institutions. In 2026, 65% say governments should be primarily responsible for tackling major challenges like climate change. However, confidence remains limited. Only 30% believe their government has a clear plan, while 32% say it does not, and just 27% consider their country a leader in climate action.
This highlights a clear gap between expectation and confidence.
Climate action meets economic reality
Economic pressure is another central theme of the 2026 report. In the Ipsos People and Climate Change 2026 study, 74% say they are concerned about rising energy prices. This concern shapes how people think about trade-offs. 50% say keeping energy prices low should take priority, even if greenhouse gas emissions increase, while 55% support higher costs if it leads to greater energy independence.
Climate action is not being rejected, but it is being weighed against affordability and energy security.
This tension is also visible in everyday behaviours. In transport, while the shift to cleaner options is widely recognised as important, only 47% say driving an electric vehicle appeals to them, highlighting the gap between intention and adoption when cost and practicality come into play.
A similar pattern can be seen in how people shop. Despite financial pressure, sustainable behaviour has not disappeared. The report shows that value-based shopping is holding, with the Conscious Consumer Index rising from 38% to 40%, and around half of consumers say they have switched products for ethical reasons.
Taken together, these shifts show that climate action is still present in everyday life, but it is increasingly shaped by what people can afford and what feels practical.
Belief in action is under pressure
Yet this is not a story of people giving up. 48% say it is not too late to tackle climate change, compared with 25% who believe it is already beyond control. This adds a new dimension to the story. The question is no longer only about responsibility, but about whether action will make a difference. As climate change becomes more visible in everyday life and more entangled with economic pressures, belief in action remains, but it is less assured.
What does this mean for Earth Day
Earth Day 2026 reflects a more complex reality: high awareness, high concern, but a growing tension between ambition and what feels achievable.
The Ipsos People and Climate Change 2026 report shows that climate change is widely felt, widely recognised and still widely supported as an issue that requires action. But it also shows that action is increasingly shaped by competing priorities and the practical realities people face in their daily lives.
For businesses, policymakers, and individuals, the challenge is no longer simply to encourage action but to make it feel realistic and achievable in everyday life.
Because in 2026, climate change is not just something people believe in. It is something they are living with.
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Sources
Ipsos Global Advisor, “Ipsos Earth Day Report 2021”, conducted on more than 21,011 adults aged 16–74 across 30 countries on Ipsos’s online platform, interviewed between Friday, February 19 to Friday, March 5, 2021.
Ipsos Global Advisor, “Ipsos Earth Day Report 2022”, conducted on more than 23,577 adults aged 16–74 across 30 countries on Ipsos’s online platform; interviewed between Friday, February 18 to Friday, March 4, 2022.
Ipsos Global Advisor, “Ipsos Earth Day Report 2023”, conducted on more than 21,231 adults aged 16–74 across 29 countries on Ipsos’s online platform, interviewed between 20 January and February 3, 2023.
Ipsos Global Advisor, “Ipsos Earth Day Report 2024”, conducted on more than 24,290 adults aged 16–74 across 33 countries on Ipsos’s online platform, interviewed between Friday, January 26 and Friday, February 9, 2024.
Ipsos Global Advisor, “People and Climate Change 2026”, conducted on 23,704 adults aged 18–74/75 across 31 countries, interviewed between January 23 and February 6, 2026.
AXA and Ipsos, “Future Risks Report 2026”, a global survey of 23,000 citizens and 3,595 risk experts to measure and rank levels of fear and vulnerability to 25 different life risks, conducted from May 14th to June 19th, 2025.
Ipsos Global Advisor, “What Worries the World”, conducted on 25,292 adults aged 16–74 across 29 countries, interviewed between January 26 and February 9, 2024 (latest comparable global wave).
