Nearly half of Africans believe their governments should lead on climate action, survey finds

Almost half of Africans who are aware of climate change believe that their own governments bear the primary responsibility for addressing the crisis and reducing its impacts, according to a major new survey.

The findings, published in the journal Nature, are based on an analysis of Afrobarometer, Africa’s largest public opinion survey. Conducted across 39 countries, the study drew on responses from 53,444 individuals. Of these, 26,735 respondents said they had heard of climate change, and it is their views that the analysis focused on.

Among this group, 45 per cent placed primary responsibility for climate action on their national governments. A further 30 per cent believe ordinary Africans themselves must take the lead. Comparatively fewer respondents pointed to historical emitters such as rich countries (13 per cent), or business and industry (8 per cent), as being primarily responsible. Only 4 per cent named traditional leaders.

Variation in citizen’s views across regions

The survey results show stark regional variations. In West Africa, more than half of respondents across countries including Nigeria, Liberia, Niger, The Gambia, Guinea, Mauritania, Sierra Leone, Mali and Senegal believe their governments should take the lead. In Nigeria, this figure rises to 76 per cent — the highest of any country surveyed.

By contrast, in countries such as Uganda, Benin, Ethiopia, Ghana and Kenya, views are more evenly split between governments and everyday citizens. 

Meanwhile, all four small island states surveyed — Cabo Verde, Mauritius, Seychelles, and São Tomé and Príncipe — rank among the top ten where citizens attribute primary responsibility to historically high-emitting countries. This may reflect growing awareness of the existential threat posed to low-lying coastal nations by rising sea levels.

In Malawi and Zimbabwe, a notable 9 per cent of respondents believe traditional leaders are primarily responsible, underlining the importance of incorporating Indigenous knowledge and local leadership in climate policy.

The study also found that belief in the need for both individual and government action on climate change is linked to lower levels of poverty, higher education levels, and greater access to new media.

Additionally, respondents who perceived local government services as more accessible and less corrupt were more likely to hold their governments accountable on climate action. This measure of “professionalism” was based on individual reports of service quality and integrity, aggregated at a regional level.

However, the authors caution that the results are limited to those who are already aware of climate change. They call for further research into how awareness, attribution of responsibility, and public evaluations of government performance intersect.

Despite contributing only a fraction of global greenhouse gas emissions, Africa is among the regions most severely affected by climate change. The survey findings highlight a growing public expectation across the continent for local and national leadership in tackling this global challenge.