This article is the second in the “Gallup World Poll at 20” series, examining two decades of global trends using Gallup World Poll data collected in more than 140 countries since 2006. Additional articles in the series will be published throughout 2026.
LONDON — With Earth Day on the horizon, Gallup research shows that the world feels more positive today about efforts to preserve the environment than at any point in the past 20 years, even as many global environmental indicators point to worsening conditions.
In 2025, a median of 57% of adults across 140 countries said they are satisfied with environmental protection efforts in their country, while 41% said they are dissatisfied. Satisfaction has increased significantly since 2022, rising eight percentage points from 49%. For much of the 2010s, satisfaction with environmental preservation efforts was broadly stable, near 50%.
Though most of the world feels satisfied with environmental preservation efforts, less than half of adults in 50 countries agree, including in the United States.
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Differences between public opinion and global environmental outcomes reflect the complex relationship between what people think and what’s happening in the environment. Understanding these disconnects helps explain the lens through which people see environmental efforts.
In some ways, the world has made environmental progress over the past two decades. Global emissions of ozone-depleting substances have fallen sharply since 2006, and the share of primary energy consumption coming from renewables has roughly doubled over the same period.
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However, many other significant measures of environmental health outcomes have moved in the opposite direction. While global deforestation rates have slowed, the world’s total forest area as a proportion of land has decreased by a full percentage point over the past two decades. Global wildlife populations have shrunk, and average temperatures now sit around 1.4 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, compared with 0.9 degrees in 2006. According to Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres, “Humanity’s relationship with nature is at a tipping point.”
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This mixed picture of environmental progress raises the question: Why is the world becoming more positive about efforts to protect the environment, when the available evidence points to limited success?
Public Views of Environmental Protection Do Not Align With Objective Data
The Environmental Performance Index (EPI) measures environmental performance across 58 indicators. On a country-by-country basis, there is no meaningful relationship between these objective measures of environmental performance and people’s subjective view of their own country’s efforts to preserve the environment, as measured in the Gallup World Poll.
However, several regional patterns exist in how people think about environmental preservation in relation to environmental health. High-income European countries, including Finland, Germany and the United Kingdom, rank highly on the EPI, yet closer to the global average for efforts to preserve the environment (between 49% and 69%).
Meanwhile, countries in Southern and Eastern Europe, including Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia and North Macedonia, have slightly above-average EPI scores but relatively low satisfaction with their country’s environmental efforts (all below 30%).
These regions contrast with Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, where large majorities are satisfied with preservation efforts despite not ranking highly on the EPI. An even greater disconnect is seen in parts of Asia, particularly Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. These countries rank low for environmental performance outcomes, yet their people are almost universally satisfied with preservation efforts.
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Recent qualitative research — conducted across a range of countries with varying levels of satisfaction with preservation efforts — also helps untangle this apparent disconnect. When asked about satisfaction with national efforts to preserve the environment, many think primarily in terms of their local environment, rather than global issues such as climate change or biodiversity loss.
Recent Increase in Satisfaction Tied to Confidence in Government
Beyond people’s straightforward explanations for their environmental attitudes, there is a strong positive association between increased trust in government and increased satisfaction with environmental preservation efforts. Gallup analysis shows that, over time, the more people trust their government, the more likely they are to be satisfied with national efforts to preserve the environment.
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This is a logical relationship because governments are the main institutions responsible for determining national environmental policies. Qualitative research also supports this, finding that when people think about efforts to preserve the environment in their country, they most often think about government, though businesses and individuals are also seen to play important roles.
Yet this relationship may run in both directions. The recent rise in satisfaction with preservation efforts worldwide is at least partly tied to people’s confidence in their national government — a measure that has held near record highs globally, with a median of 50% last year.
U.S. Satisfaction With Efforts to Preserve Environment Drops Significantly Over Time
Last year, 42% of Americans said they are satisfied with efforts to preserve the environment. Since its recent high point of 60% in 2014, the U.S. has seen one of the biggest declines globally in satisfaction.
This decline also puts U.S. satisfaction significantly below other advanced economies across the OECD (median of 56%). U.S. satisfaction with efforts to preserve the environment fell sharply in 2007 at the onset of the financial crisis, before rebounding (in line with the OECD) to 60% in 2011. It remained at the record high for a few years before dropping again in 2015. It has not reached 50% since.
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These findings align with others from the Gallup Poll Social Series, which finds that Americans’ ratings of their environmental quality hit a record low in 2026.
Bottom Line
Gallup’s research over the past two decades shows the world has grown more positive about efforts to preserve the environment. While some of that optimism reflects genuine progress, forests are still being cleared, biodiversity is eroding, and temperatures are rising.
Public opinion on this question does not closely track environmental outcomes. Instead, satisfaction with efforts to preserve the environment is based on a broader range of factors that go beyond local realities — and, in recent years, one of the strongest has been how people feel about their government.
If satisfaction continues to rise while environmental outcomes worsen, public pressure for stronger environmental policies that seek to protect the future of the planet could weaken.
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For complete methodology and specific survey dates, please review Gallup’s Country Data Set details. Learn more about how the Gallup World Poll works.
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