UPDATE – We’ve now obtained the missing statistics, full details at the bottom of the post.

Ever since the current financial crisis hit people have been suggesting that belt-tightening could spell the end of green spending.

Now a new survey conducted in 12 countries has found “Forty three per cent of those surveyed chose climate change ahead of global economic stability when asked about their top three concerns, despite the survey taking place in the midst of the financial market turmoil in September-October 2008.”

Unfortunately the survey, run for the HSBC bank, provides no further details on that figure, either in the press release or the glossy, eight-page report pdf. No information on what the other 57% of people think, or indeed what the top three concerns actually were.

Worryingly this fact – or lack of it – is glossed over in most of the positive press coverage that is being given to this poll…

Climate change still a concern despite economy: poll – CTV

Climate change survey gives mandate for action – New Scientist

Consumers rank climate concerns ahead of economy – Guardian

‘World mandate’ on climate action – BBC

I’ve asked HSBC to fill in the blanks.

Meanwhile there is another fly in the ointment, as picked out by the Daily Telegraph: “Individuals are less willing to change their lifestyles or spend money to stop climate change, according to new research showing attitudes to climate change as the economy slows down.”

According to the survey (pdf):

Across the nine markets covered in both 2007 and 2008, the proportion of people who say they are willing to (a) make changes to their lifestyle to help reduce climate change has fallen

from 58% to 47%; (b) spend extra time has decreased from 45% to 37%; (c) spend extra money has dropped from 28% to 20%.

That makes this rather less of a positive story, especially given that the headline statement is spectacularly lacking in information that would make it meaningful.

UPDATE

HSBC have kindly provided the data behind the statement that “forty three per cent of those surveyed chose climate change ahead of global economic stability when asked about their top three concerns”:

43% are more concerned about climate change than the global economy

57% are more concerned about the global economy than climate change.

As HSBC notes, this is “still a significant proportion given the field research started before the collapse of Lehman Brothers and continued throughout the midst of the financial crisis”.

However the results for the question “please rank how concerned you are about the following list of world issues”shows that climate change came third overall, behind both ‘global economic stability’ and ‘violence in every day life’.