For Immediate Release1
September 10, 2012

The Asahi Glass Foundation Announces Results of the 21st Annual“Questionnaire on Environmental Problems and the Survival of Humankind”● The average global time on the Environmental Doomsday Clock was 9:23, a 22-minute advancement fromlast year. Except for Eastern Europe & the former Soviet Union, and the Middle East, the needle for all
regions advanced, placing it in the “extremely concerned” sector.
● Climate change was the top-ranked environmental condition of concern in determining the time on theEnvironmental Doomsday Clock.
● Respondents stated that the greatest obstacle to solving environmental problems was the importance placedon the economy. Overall, “pursuit of profit” and the “global economic system” were the predominant
responses regarding the impediments to addressing environmental problems.
● 80% of respondents stated their desire for some review of nuclear energy policy after the Fukushima
accident.
● 82% of respondents selected either the “health and safety of citizens” or “consideration for future generations
and the environment” as being the most important factors in reviewing nuclear energy policy.
● The majority of respondents stated that more citizens opposed nuclear power after the Fukushima accident, at
67% overall and an overwhelming 97% in Japan.
The Asahi Glass Foundation (Chairman: Tetsuji Tanaka) has conducted surveys with environmental experts
around the world each year since 1992. This year, the Foundation received 1,101 responses from 88 countries.
The following are the major findings of the survey. (Please refer to the attached appendix for details on thesurvey and this year’s results.)

1. Awareness of the Crisis Facing Human Survival - The Environmental Doomsday Clock・ The average global time on the Environmental Doomsday Clock was 9:23, a 22-minute advancement from lastyear. The needle had been retreating for three consecutive years since 2009, but reverted to 2009 levels.

Movements in the Environmental Doomsday Clock (2008 – 2012, Overall)

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・The needle moved more than 20 minutes compared to last year in four regions: Africa (55 minutes from 9:09
to 10:04), Latin America (42 minutes from 9:18 to 10:00), Japan (28 minutes from 8:46 to 9:14) andWestern Europe (27 minutes from 9:28 to 9:55). The movement tended to be larger in developing regions
than developed regions.

● Environmental Conditions of Concern
Overall Analysis of the Environmental Conditions of Concern (Categories Ranked 1-3)

Overall, “climate change” was the most often cited environmental condition of concern when classifying theitems ranked 1 through 3. This was followed by “water resources,” “pollution/contamination,” and “biodiversity”
as well as “population.”• Likewise, when listing the weighted averages of the Environmental Doomsday Clock of each category
concerned starting with the most advanced time, respondents expressed the greatest sense of crisis with“environment and economy.” This was followed by “biodiversity,” “population,” “environment and society,”and “climate change.”2Distribution of the Environmental Conditions of Concern (Categories Ranked 1)• By far, respondents most frequently chose “climate change” as the top environmental condition they wereconcerned with when selecting the time on the Environmental Doomsday Clock. This was followed by“pollution/contamination,” “population,” “water resources,” and “biodiversity.”• Listing the top ranked categories in order of the time on the Environmental Doomsday Clock reveals a higher
sense of crisis with “environment and economy,” and “population,” which are both in the 10 o’clock hour,rather than “water resources” or “food problems” (both 9:29).

2. Impediments to Addressing Environmental Problems
1. Impediments to addressing environmental problems
Overall, an overwhelming majority stated that “pursuit of profit” was the most significant impediment toaddressing environmental problems, at 82%.

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2. We asked those respondents who selected “the pursuit of profit” whether or not they agree with thefollowing six items. The following graphs show the results of overall responses.
1. National Interests are Necessarily Prioritized

2. Individuals Make Decisions Based on Short-Term
Cost-Benefit Analyses

・A large majority agreed with the statement, at 78%.

・77% agreed that individuals made decisions onlywith short-term cost-benefit analyses. Only 15%
disagreed.

3. Corporate, Organizational, or Regional Profits
are Prioritized

4. Devotion to Growth Does Not Aim Towards
Sustainable and Recycling Economy

・A large majority agreed that “economic profits of acorporation, organization, or region are prioritizedat the expense of environmental considerations,”
disagreed.

・A large majority agreed with “exclusive devotion togrowth is not directed towards a sustainable andstable recycling economy” at 84%. Only 8% at
71%.Only 20% disagreed.

5. Societal Costs are Not Reflected

6. Lifestyles Based on Mass Consumption Cannot beAbandoned

・A large majority agreed with “economic systems
like the TEEB, reflecting societal costs, have notbeen pursued, at 72%.

・The majority agreed that “current lifestyles based onlarge consumption of energy cannot be abandoned,”
at 56%.

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3. About Nuclear Energy and the Environment
1. Public Sentiment towards Nuclear PowerThe majority of respondents overall selected “more citizens oppose nuclear power” at 67%, which climbed to97% in Japan.

OverallJapan

2. Nuclear Energy Policy in Respondent’s Country after the Fukushima Accident
Overall, 80% of respondents selected “nuclear energy policy should be reviewed” (32%), “reliance on nuclear
power should be decreased” (25%), or “nuclear energy should be abolished” (23%).

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3. Most Important Factor in Reviewing Nuclear Energy Policy
A combined 82% selected “the health and safety of citizens” (39%), “consideration for future generations”(23%), “consideration for the environment” (20%), comprising a large majority.

４％

The survey includes a Comments section in which respondents are invited to write about environmental
problems in their countries, their opinions, and solutions. This year, we received the greatest number ofcomments since the inception of the survey, from 314 respondents in 54 countries around the world as well as
151 respondents in Japan, for a total of 465. These comments will be published in October with the full report,“Results of the 21st Annual Questionnaire on Environmental Problems and the Survival of Humankind.”

For more information, please contact:
Tetsuro Yasuda, Secretary General
The Asahi Glass Foundation
2nd Floor, Science Plaza 5-3 Yonbancho Chiyoda-ku Tokyo 102-0081 Japan
Phone: +81-3-5275-0620
Fax: +81-3-5275-0871, e-mail: post@af-info.or.jp
URL: http://www.af-info.or.jp

6Appendix• About the “Questionnaire on Environmental Problems and the Survival of Humankind”
Since 1992, the Asahi Glass Foundation has conducted a survey each year with experts around the world who areknowledgeable and are involved in environmental issues. The respondent pool includes government officials andmembers of universities and research institutions, nongovernmental organizations, corporations and mass media.
These experts are queried about various endeavors to counter environmental problems. (The survey is supervised byProfessor Akio Morishima, Special Research Advisor of the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies and board
member of the Foundation.) The questionnaires are sent out to approximately 7,000 respondents every April andcollected by June. After the responses are compiled, compared, and analyzed, the survey results are announced in
September. The report is available in Japanese, English, Chinese, and Spanish. The pie chart below shows theaffiliation of the questionnaire respondents in descending order. The questionnaire was sent to respondents in 167
countries including Japan, with responses returning from 88countries.
Number of Countries Surveyed
Unknown
1%

Mass Media
5%

Regions
Government
14%

Other
13%

Corporation
17%

Universityand ResearchInstitute35%

NPO/NGO
15%

Countries

Asia23Africa46

Oceania9Western Europe

20

Eastern Europe &former Soviet Union

23Middle East

14U.S.A & Canada2Latin America29Total

166• Facts about This Year’s Questionnaire
Survey period: Questionnaires were sent out in April 2012 with a return deadline of June 2012
Questionnaire respondent pool: Environmental experts selected from members of government organizations,academic and research institutions, NGOs, corporations, and mass media. (based on the Asahi Glass Foundation
database)
Questionnaires mailed: 7,152 (6,237 to 166 countries and 915 within Japan)
Questionnaires returned: 1,101
Response rate: 15.4%
Breakdown of respondents by region:Region
Number of responses
Japan
357
United States & Canada
105
Western Europe
119
Asian Four*89
Developed Regions (Including Asian Four) 670
Rest of Asia (Excluding Japan, Asian Four) 298
Latin America
42
Africa33
Developing Regions
373
Oceania17
Eastern Europe & former Soviet Union
26
Middle East
9
Others52
Overseas Total
739
Total
1096

Percent of total
32.6
9.6
10.9
8.1
61.1
27.2
3.8
3.0
34.0
1.6
2.4
0.8
4.7
67.4
100.0
*Asian Four:South Korea, Hong kong, Taiwan and Singapore

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