A global safety charity is calling for increased education and awareness about the risks of climate change after a study revealed that 29 per cent of Nigerians are uncertain about its threat to their country.
The findings are part of the latest Lloyd’s Register Foundation World Risk Poll report, What the World Worries About: Global Perceptions and Experiences of Risk and Harm. Conducted by global analytics firm Gallup, the study involved interviews with 147,000 participants across 142 countries and territories. The results highlight Nigeria as one of the countries with significant uncertainty about climate change risks.
In Nigeria, nearly one-third of respondents (29 per cent) reported that they “don’t know” if climate change poses a threat in the next 20 years—marking the seventh-highest level of uncertainty globally. This figure has fluctuated in recent years, from 18 per cent in 2019 to 30% in 2021, but remains above the 21 per cent average for Central/Western Africa.
Globally, however, uncertainty about climate change is decreasing. In 2023, only 12 per cent of people worldwide were unsure of its threat, a sharp drop from 19 per cent in 2021 and 18 per cent in 2019. Nigeria’s 29 per cent uncertainty rate stands significantly higher than the global average.
The poll also found a shift in global perceptions of climate change. While the proportion of those viewing it as a “very serious” threat dipped from 41 per cent in 2021 to 39 per cent in 2023, those considering it a “somewhat serious” threat increased from 26 per cent to 33 per cent. In Nigeria, 32 per cent view climate change as a “very serious” threat, while 24 per cent see it as “somewhat serious.”
Conversely, 15 per cent of Nigerians do not perceive climate change as a threat at all, compared to the global average of 16 per cent. Overall, 72 per cent of the global population now feels at least somewhat threatened by climate change, up from 67 per cent in 2021.
Director of evidence and insight at Lloyd’s Register Foundation, Nancy Hey stressed the importance of targeted education. “Our findings show that globally, more people are forming opinions about climate change. Yet in countries like Nigeria, uncertainty remains high,” she said. “These individuals are not climate skeptics—they lack access to reliable information. Targeted communication could inspire the action needed to address this generational challenge.”
Professor Wändi Bruine de Bruin, an expert in public policy and behavioural science at the University of Southern California, highlighted the disconnect between severe weather experiences and awareness of climate change. “Although 64 per cent of Nigerians worry about severe weather harm, many don’t link it to climate change,” she explained. She blamed this disconnect partly on the complexity of climate science and the use of jargon in climate communications.
To address this, her team collaborates with the United Nations Foundation and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to simplify messaging. “If you want to inform people, you need to stop confusing them with technical terms,” she added.
As climate change continues to impact lives globally, these findings underscore the urgent need for effective education and communication strategies, particularly in regions like Nigeria, where significant gaps in understanding persist.
