Ghanaians say the government and ordinary citizens share responsibility for fighting climate change, the latest Afrobarometer survey shows. While fewer than half of citizens have heard of climate change, a majority of those who are aware of the phenomenon say it is making life in the country worse and requires urgent government action.

Citizens also call on other key stakeholders – including business and industry, developed countries, and ordinary citizens – to do a lot more to limit climate change.

Key findings

▪In Ghana, 44% of adults say they have heard of climate change (Figure 1).

▪ Among Ghanaians who are aware of climate change:

o Six out of 10 (60%) say it is making life worse, a 12-percentage-point increase since 2020 (Figure 2).

o More than three-fourths say that ordinary citizens can help curb climate change (77%) and believe that the government needs to take immediate action to limit climate change, even if it causes some job losses or other harm to the economy (87%) (Figure 3).

o Views are divided as to whether the government (43%) or ordinary citizens (42%) have the primary responsibility for fighting climate change and limiting its impact.

Far fewer place this responsibility mainly on business and industry (9%), rich or developed countries (3%), and traditional leaders (2%) (Figure 4).

o But a slim majority (53%) say the government is performing “fairly badly” or “very badly” in handling climate change (Figure 5).

o Strong majorities say the government (81%), business and industry (74%), developed countries (69%), and citizens (67%) “need to do a lot more” to limit climate change (Figure 6).

Afrobarometer surveys

Afrobarometer is a pan-African, non-partisan survey research network that provides reliable data on African experiences and evaluations of democracy, governance, and quality of life.

Eight survey rounds in up to 39 countries have been completed since 1999. Round 9 surveys (2021/2022) are currently underway. Afrobarometer’s national partners conduct face-to-face interviews in the language of the respondent’s choice.

The Afrobarometer team in Ghana, led by the Ghana Center for Democratic Development, interviewed a nationally representative sample of 2,369 adult Ghanaians in April 2022. A sample of this size yields country-level results with a margin of error of +/-2 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.

Previous surveys were conducted in Ghana in 1999, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2012, 2014, 2017, and 2019.

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