01 Jul 07

Former US Vice-President and recent environmental celebrity, Al Gore, has topped the list of most influential people to champion the cause of global warming in a 47-country internet survey conducted by Oxford University and The Nielsen Company. In addition, the survey has found that his film, An Inconvenient Truth, has had a significant influence on people's awareness on the issues as well as their stated changes in habits and behaviours.

Nearly one in five global consumers picked Al Gore, ahead of former United Nations head, Kofi Annan (15per cent), with Oprah Winfrey and Bill Clinton tying as third choice (14 per cent each). Ranked fifth with 11 per cent of global votes was former South African president, Nelson Mandela. A 'dream ticket' for climate ambassadors would include Al Gore and Kofi Annan, who polled as first or second choices in the most countries, together covering 38 of the 47 countries.

Dr Max Boykoff, James Martin Fellow at the University of Oxford, said: 'The recent success of the film An Inconvenient Truth has pushed both Al Gore and the message of concern for climate change up the public agenda. This has been combined with UN scientific reports and the Stern Review as well as increased media coverage over the last months to shift the focus for many people from whether there is a problem to what to do about it.'

The online Nielsen survey, the largest of its kind to be conducted globally on the topic of consumer attitudes to climate change, was conducted in April 2007 in collaboration with the University's Environmental Change Institute. It polled 26,486 internet users across 47 countries in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and the Middle East.

'Live Earth represents an opportunity for a broader group of people to hear about the issue of climate change, and this study was a chance to identify who might be an effective messenger. If the science is correct, we will need massive collective and individual action to address climate change. The challenge that remains is to explore which messages move people from concern to positive action', said Professor Timmons Roberts, James Martin Fellow at the University of Oxford.