Are you one of the silent climate majority?

Imagine an issue the vast majority of people support. You would expect politicians and businesses to tap into this and do something about it. Climate change is one such issue. Major surveys and academic research show that between 80 and
89 per cent of the world’s people want their governments to do more to address a rapidly heating planet. But here’s the paradox: many of these people think they are in the minority and feel their views and voices aren’t being heard.

They feel frustrated, sidelined and fear that others might disagree with them. So, many keep silent. That might seem hard to believe at first glance. After all, governments and businesses have pledged net-zero targets, imposed taxes or reduction targets on carbon emissions, corporations now have chief sustainability officers and renewable energy investment is soaring globally.

These are all vital steps forward. Sounds like governments are listening, right? Sadly, we’re still far off course. Global greenhouse gas emissions are still growing, temperatures are spiking and climate impacts are worsening. And that’s worrying more and more people and hurting their livelihoods and bank balance.

Here are two examples: A recent study by the World Weather Attribution network and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine found climate change caused an estimated 1,500 deaths during the European heatwave in late June and early July 2025. From 1980 to August 2024, the United States suffered 396 weather and climate disasters where overall damages for each reached at least US$1 billion (S$1.28 billion).

The total cost of these events exceeds US$2.78 trillion. Extreme storms, floods and fires have made insurance unaffordable, or unavailable, in an increasing number of areas in the US and other nations. There’s a growing urgency for action — yet strangely there is public paralysis. To ramp up global climate action, this silent majority must break its silence and speak loudly. Why isn’t it?

How did we get here’In some countries, the politics around climate change remains polarised, especially in the US, with the climate discourse full of doubt and deceit funded by the fossil fuel industry and amplified by internet trolls. It has also been painted by some as a “liberal” or “woke” cause, never mind that climate change and forest fires have devastated communities. Seeing this, many people avoid the topic of climate change, even at the dinner table.

“This overwhelming majority in favour of climate action is not reflected in most news coverage. It’s not reflected in most social media discourse. It’s not reflected in what most political leaders talk about and say,” said Mr Mark Hertsgaard, a US journalist and co-founder and executive director of Covering Climate Now (CCN), a global initiative that works with media organisations to boost climate coverage and education.

“It is a reflection of the incredible effectiveness of this 40-plus-year campaign of lies and deception that the fossil fuel industry has mounted internationally,” said Mr Hertsgaard. Internal records show that scientists at some of the biggest oil and gas firms, including Exxon-Mobil, knew decades ago that burning fossil fuels will cause global warming. But Big Oil decided to cover up the overwhelming weight of science that humans are causing climate change. They have funded
pro-fossil fuel lobbyists and politicians to push back against stronger climate action.

Challenging the industry’s narratives is a focus of CCN’s 89 Percent Project, an initiative launched in April 2025 that seeks to unravel the reasons for the silent majority and solutions to unite them. Dozens of media outlets around the globe are part of the initiative. The fact that there is a large unheard majority fundamentally shifts the framing of how all of us
think about climate change and the politics of climate change, Mr Hertsgaard told The Straits Times.

“You know, we’ve believed that it’s this hopelessly polarised issue that is too controversial to talk about. And that’s just wrong,” he said. Human nature also feeds the perception gap, said Dr Olivia Jensen, a social scientist and deputy director of the Lloyd’s Register Foundation Institute for the Public Understanding of Risk at the National University of Singapore.

“When individuals answer the question about what other people think, they bring to mind observed behaviour rather than imagining what people’s underlying values might be, so they guess that other people do not care much about climate change,” she told ST. It’s human nature to avoid confrontation or awkward social moments. As someone who has been writing about climate change for many years, it can be frustrating to observe colleagues, friends and even family holding on to false beliefs about climate change.

And there’s another reason. Climate change tends to be portrayed as an endless string of disasters, a story of hopelessness. That leads to news fatigue, especially with the daily news cycle dominated by stories of wars, tariffs and other geopolitical risks. Media organisations need to do a better job telling the story of climate solutions and financial opportunities and promoting public discussion and education.

The media plays an important role in driving stronger climate action, Singapore’s Ambassador for Climate Action Ravi Menon told ST: “The media can help by constantly reminding everyone that climate change remains the biggest challenge and risk facing people and that climate action is just as urgent and important as other priorities.”

What do the surveys say’To really accelerate change, the majority need to be heard. Four in every five people (80 per cent) called for their country to strengthen its commitments to address climate change, according to The Peoples’ Climate Vote 2024, conducted by the United Nations Development Programme and the University of Oxford. More than 73,000 people were
surveyed in 77 countries, representing 87 per cent of the world’s population.

For people in more climate-vulnerable regions and poorer nations, the number was even higher: 89 per cent wanted their country to strengthen its commitments to address climate change. Separate research published in the journal Nature in 2024, based on a survey of nearly 130,000 people in 125 countries, including Singapore, found that 89 per cent demanded intensified political action. In fact, across parts of Asia, the figure was even higher.

In Singapore, it was 93 per cent; 96.2 per cent for Malaysia; 94.1 per cent in the Philippines; 97.1 per cent in China; 86.5 per cent for Indonesia; and 80 per cent for India. In the United States, it was 74 per cent. Despite this, the researchers concluded that “individuals around the globe systematically underestimate the willingness of their fellow citizens to act”.

In Singapore, there’s growing support for climate action by individuals and businesses, Mr Menon said. The challenge was translating this support into concrete action. “Given the scale and complexity of the climate crisis, many individuals feel that their actions are too small to make an impact. Likewise, many businesses feel that if they move ahead on climate action, they may lose to their competitors who do not.”

There was also a sense among many individuals and businesses that climate action is primarily the
responsibility of the Government, he added. Support, yes. But is it real? It’s one thing to demand more action. But will people really follow through, or even know how to? “When you ask people about a big issue like climate change, people tend to think in abstract, value-driven terms, and at this level, they do think that climate change is important and want governments to do more,” said Dr Jensen.

But if you ask them questions about trade-offs with other policy priorities, other uses of government
revenues, then climate change does not come out on top, she added. “Just looking at the behavioural choices people make, you wouldn’t know they cared much about climate change,” she said.

That is in part due to the day-to-day economic priorities of people, especially in poorer nations where putting food on the table and paying bills are paramount. “That’s the immediate reality. It’s not that they don’t care. It’s not that they don’t want clean air and clean water for their kids. They absolutely do,” said Mr Hertsgaard.

Digging a bit deeper, doing something about climate action also requires better understanding of the right policies, said Dr Jensen. While people may support stronger government action in general, most have low knowledge about which policies would be more or less effective in reducing emissions. This is where politicians must work harder to explain their policies — especially climate policies that will affect people financially.

The money question is key. As the climate crisis worsens and governments have to enact tougher policies, are citizens willing to support them, such as budget cuts to key services to fund more green energy or climate adaptation projects, for instance, better flood defences? What about making personal choices, such as taking public transport, eating less meat and flying less?

The 2024 Nature study found that 69 per cent of respondents said they would be willing to contribute 1 per cent of their household income every month to fight global warming (for Singapore, it was 53.1 per cent and 66.9 per cent in Malaysia). Just over a quarter said they would not be willing to contribute any amount.

Mr Hertsgaard said the economy will always come first for people. That’s normal. But through its growing bread-and-butter impacts, climate change has become a top issue. The simplest remedy to overcome the perception gap is to start talking to one another. That’s the message from climate scientist, educator and author Katharine Hayhoe.

“I’m absolutely convinced that just about every single person has every reason they need to care about climate change already, and their reason might be different than yours or mine,” she said in a YouTube message.

The key was joining the dots — and here again, the media is key. “We connect the dots between climate change and how it’s affecting what we already care about, what already matters to us, and then we talk about how we really can fix this thing.”

Talk to politicians, too. On July 9, more than 5,000 people from across Britain arrived in London to meet their MPs and demand urgent climate action to protect their communities. Before the event, a giant image created by The People’s Picture, stating that “89% of people want climate action”, was projected on the white cliffs of Dover.

We also need to take steps to cut our own carbon emissions, such as making our homes more energy efficient and cutting food and plastic waste. Not only does this give credibility to demands for greater climate action, but it will also help accelerate it and be a powerful message to politicians and businesses.

“Effective climate action is all about collective effort,” said Mr Menon. “Government policies are a key enabler, but business strategies and individual actions are just as important.” The bottom line is that there is a huge and untapped resource to drive
climate action. It is your friends, your family, your colleagues.

“It is an extraordinary popular mandate. There is this 80 to 89 per cent of the population out there waiting for leaders to call them to action. It’s 80 to 89 per cent, so it’s an enormous opportunity for these activist groups, for politicians, to latch on to,” said Mr Hertsgaard.

So what are you waiting for? Start talking to your neighbour. Chances are they care about climate change, too.

This article first appeared on The Straits Times and was written by David Fogarty.