After a recent study horrified most Australians by naming us the World's worst polluters (per capita)*, it's a breath of fresh air to hear that most people around the world are ready to make personal sacrifices to address the problems of climate change.
A recent poll conducted by the BBC of 22,000 people across 21 countries found that seventy per cent of respondents said they were prepared to change their lifestyle - even in the US and China, the world's two biggest emitters of carbon dioxide.
Opinion was split over tax rises on oil and coal, with 44 per cent against and 50 per cent in favour. However, the poll suggested that support for such taxes would be greater if the revenue was put towards boosting efficiency and finding new energy sources.
Overall, 83 per cent of respondents throughout the world agreed that individuals would definitely or probably have to make lifestyle changes to reduce the amount of climate-changing gases they produce. Some 70 per cent said they were ready now to make personal sacrifices.
In the US and in almost all European countries, the majority of people said they believed the cost of fuels that contribute most to climate change would have to increase.
The Chinese were shown to be the most enthusiastic when it comes to energy taxes, with 85 per cent of those polled saying they were in favour - 24 percentage points more than in the next most-supportive countries.
In the rest of the world, when people initially opposed to energy taxes were asked whether their opinion would change if the revenue from the taxes was used to increase energy efficiency or develop cleaner fuel, most changed to be in favour of higher taxes.
*The worldwide study conducted by the Carbon Monitoring for Action (Carma), released last week, showed that Australia produces five times as much CO2 from generating power as China.
