Is a world government the answer to global issues?

Survey suggests

Survey suggests majority of Britons would
support the creation of a form of global administration

In Depth

The Global Challenges Foundation, a Swedish think-tank,
commissioned a survey by ComRes of more than 8,000 people in eight
countries ahead of the G7 summit in Sicily this week,
reports The Independent.

People in Australia, Brazil, China, Germany, India, South
Africa, the UK and the US were asked what they felt was the most
serious threat to mankind, including disease, a massive volcanic
eruption, artificial intelligence turning against us, weapons of
mass destruction and ecological collapse.

What are the greatest perceived threats?

Climate change came out top in all
eight countries, which are collectively home to half the population
of the planet.

Eighty-eight per cent of respondents said they would be prepared
to make changes that would affect their living standards to prevent
catastrophic climate change in the future.

In the UK, 80 per cent of those surveyed ranked climate change
as the greatest threat to the planet. The threat of nuclear war and
use of weapons of mass destruction came in second.

What are the solutions?

Almost seven in ten Britons (69 per cent) said they would
support the creation of a new “supranational organisation to make
enforceable global decisions” about major threats, while 54 per
cent would be happy for the UK to give up some of its sovereignty
to address the world’s most serious problems.

Support for a world government was highest in India (84 per
cent), followed by China (78 per cent) and South Africa (76 per
cent), but the idea was popular across the board. US support was 67
per cent while Germany had the lowest figure at 62 per cent.

Ahead of Friday’s G7 summit in Italy, Global Challenges
Foundation vice chairman Mats Andersson urged nations to work
together to address people’s fears.

“Whether it’s the spectre of nuclear conflict over North Korea
or our planet tipping into catastrophic climate change, the need
for effective global cooperation has never been greater,” he
said.