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Climate Change Is Seen as Most Worrying Threat to World Security

While government officials are set to discuss geopolitical tensions at a conference in Munich, a new poll suggests people are more concerned about global warming

Sugarcane fields next to scorched fields due to a fire near Ribeirão Preto, Sao Paulo state, Brazil in August 2021.

Sugarcane fields next to scorched fields due to a fire near Ribeirão Preto, Sao Paulo state, Brazil in August 2021.

Photographer: Jonne Roriz/Bloomberg
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Climate change is seen as a bigger threat than war by a majority of people living in some of the world’s top economies, according to new data being presented to diplomats and military officials who convene Friday for a key security meeting in Germany.  

The poll commissioned by the Munich Security Conference listed concern over global warming, habitat destruction and extreme weather as the top three risks named by 12,000 people surveyed globally in November. The results are notable since polling coincided with some of the first reports of escalating military tension between Russia and Ukraine.