Survey Deems Political Parties 'Ignorant' Towards Climate Change

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The latest poll by Indikator Politik Indonesia shows that young voters comprising the generation Z (gen Z) and millennials have shown serious awareness towards climate change. Respondents of this poll  believe that the climate crisis has grown to be more worrying, could spark a brader effect, and places responsibility towards the government to solve the problem. 

“Another interesting aspect is that the survey shows political parties have seemingly failed to address and prioritize the climate crisis in political agendas. Nearly every political party only scored below 5 percent,” said Indikator Politik Indonesia executive director Burhanuddin Muhtadi in a press conference on Wednesday, October 27. 

The poll was in partnership with the Indonesia Cerah Foundation that targets youths within the 17-35 year old age demographic across Indonesia. 

The survey shows that 82 percent of the respondents are aware of the climate change issue while 85 percent of respondents believe corruption is what they fear the most. Another problem grabbing the attention of 82 percent of young voters is environmental damages. 

Majority of respondents believe climate change is a serious matter that is felt at present time, where 63 percent believe the hotter climate during drought is proof of this. 

The survey was held from September 9-16, 2021, on 4,020 respondents in the 17-35 age group through face-to-face interviews. The survey has a 1.8 percent margin of error with 95 percent level of confidence.

The survey also addressed a number of problems that are deemed to be the root cause of climate crisis, the majority believe it is deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions from transportation and coal-burning plants along with mining activities.

Nearly more than half, or 53 percent, of respondents believe climate change has harmed Indonesians and urged stakeholders to participate in reducing the effects of climate change. They also highlighted the government’s role to force changes.

The Indikator Politik Indonesia survey respondents believe the government must invest in developing renewable energy such as wind power and solar power, which are far cleaner than investing in coal-power.

“The majority of respondents agree that in order to tackle climate change, industrial emissions that produce fossil fuel must be reduced,” said Burhanuddin.

A PAN politician, who is also the Mayor of Bogor Bima Arya Sugiarto responded to the survey and deemed it fair criticism towards the government for caring more about climate change. 

“This is a historical survey in Indonesia as of today problems such as environmental issues, sustainable development, and climate change has not been a populist issue for politicians during an election,” said Bima in the launch of the survey.

Meanwhile, executive director of CERAH Adhityani Putri hopes the survey will open the eyes of politicians and policy makers. She also asserted that climate change must be considered as a main political agenda in the country.

Read: Young Voters Highly Concerned About Climate Change: Survey

DEWI NURITA