For Immediate Release
September 8, 2017thThe Asahi Glass Foundation Announces Results of the 26 Annual“Questionnaire on Environmental Problems and the Survival of Humankind”
・ The average time on the Environmental Doomsday Clock for all respondents was 9:33, the same as reported in2008 and the most advanced time since the inception of the survey in 1992.
・ Respondents in Oceana reported the highest sense of crisis. In contrast, the lowest was in Eastern Europe and theformer Soviet Union.
・ Respondents over the age of 60 reported the highest sense of crisis, with a time on the Environmental Doomsday
Clock 10 minutes more advanced than respondents under 60.
・ A combined 95% of respondents stated they were “extremely concerned” or “fairly concerned,” revealing astrong sense of worry among the great majority of respondents.
・ Overall, respondents most frequently selected “climate change” as the environmental condition they were mostconcerned about in selecting a time on the Environmental Doomsday Clock, a consistent response since 2011.
・ Overall, 80% of respondents from the United States and more than half stated that post-U.S. presidential election
politics had an effect on their determination of the time on the Environmental Doomsday Clock.
The Asahi Glass Foundation (Chairman: Kazuhiko Ishimura) has conducted surveys with environmental experts aroundthe world each year since 1992. This year, the questionnaire was distributed to 211 countries around the world, and we
received responses from 2,152 respondents in 130 countries, a 14% increase from last year. Below are the main pointsof this year’s questionnaire results. Further details are available in the “Survey Report of the 26th Annual Questionnaireon Environmental Problems and the Survival of Humankind,” or online at the Foundation’s web site starting 11 a.m. on
September 8th.
1. Awareness of the Crisis Facing Human Survival - The Environmental Doomsday Clock
1-1 Environmental Doomsday Clock・ The average time on the Environmental Doomsday Clock for all respondents advanced 2 minutes to 9:33, the sametime as reported in 2008. This marks the most advanced time since the inception of the survey in 1992.

Change over the years in the Environmental Doomsday Clock• The time on the Environmental Doomsday Clock has advanced every year since 2013. This year’s time marks a14-minute advancement from 2013.

The trend in the Environmental Doomsday Clock (2013-2017)1

• Of the 9 regions surveyed, the needle advanced in four regions (Oceania, United States & Canada, Asia, Africa). The
time retreated in the remaining five regions (Western Europe, South America, Central America, Middle East, Eastern
Europe and the former Soviet Union.)• This year, the needle of the Middle East retreated 61 minutes to 9:05, representing the second lowest after Eastern
Europe and the former Soviet Union.
• Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union was the only region that remained in the 8 o’clock range (the “fairlyconcerned” quadrant), whereas all other regions were in the “extremely concerned” quadrant, as in previous years.
The sense of crisis was the highest among respondents in Oceania and United States & Canada, in the 10 o’clock
range.

Regional Times・In analyzing the changes in the Environmental Doomsday clock since the inception of the survey, overall, respondents
have consistently indicated times in the “extremely concerned” quadrant in the 9 o’clock hour since 1996, with theexception of 2000.

Changes in the Environmental Doomsday ClockA Comparison of Annual Changes Since 19922

1-2. Shifts in the Environmental Doomsday Clock Based on Respondent Age (2011 – 2017)
As in last year, shifts in the time by respondent age were analyzed this year, examining the seven years from 2011 to2017.
• In all years since the inception of the survey, respondents over the age of 60 reported a more advanced time on theEnvironmental Doomsday Clock than respondents under the age of 60.
• Comparing the shifts in the Environmental Doomsday Clock from 2011 to 2017 between the three age groups reveals
that the advancement in time was greater for younger generations, at 58 minutes for respondents in their 20s to 30s, 33
minutes for those in their 40s to 50s, and 15 minutes for respondents in their over 60s.

Shifts in the Environmental Doomsday Clock by Generation
2. Environmental Issues to be Taken into Account in Determining the Time on the Environmental Doomsday Clock(Overall)
In determining the time on the Environmental Doomsday Clock, the questionnaire asked respondents to select fromthe following 9 categories of environmental problems the most pressing issues in the country or region where they
lived, ranking the problems from 1 to 3. (See Questionnaire Report for further details.)
Environmental Issues to be taken into Account:
1. Climate Change; 2. Biosphere integrity (Biodiversity); 3. Land-system change (Land Use); 4. Biochemicalflows (Pollution/Contamination); 5. Water Resources; 6. Population; 7. Food; 8. Lifestyles (ConsumptionHabits) ; 9. Society, Economy and Environment (Category item of “Warming measures” is deleted, while“Environment and economy” and “Environment and society” are integrated into “Society, Economy andEnvironment” from 2017.)
2-1. Selection Rates for Environmental Issues to be taken into Account• In selecting a time on the Environmental Doomsday Clock, similar to last year, respondents overall most frequently
selected “climate change” as the environmental issues to be taken into account at 29%. This was followed by “biosphere
integrity (biodiversity)” at 12%, and “water resources” at 11%.

2-2. Ranking of Time on the Environmental Doomsday Clock for Environmental Issues to be taken into Account• When ranking the Environmental Doomsday Clock time for the Environmental Issues to be taken into Account indescending order, “biosphere integrity (biodiversity)” had the most advanced time, at 9:44, followed very closely by“food” at 9:43, and “population” at 9:40.
• “Food,” which ranked the lowest last year and the only category that had remained in the 8 o’clock hour, saw its
needle advance by 44 minutes this year, representing the greatest rise in the sense of crisis.

32-3. Regional Trends in the Selection of Environmental Issues to be taken into Account・ Overall, “climate change” was the most frequently selected category in most regions, at 29%. This was followed by“biosphere integrity (biodiversity)” (12%) and “water resources” (11%)
・ In the Middle East, “water resources” was the top-ranked issue.

43. The Effect of Post-U.S. Presidential Election Politics on the Environmental Doomsday Clock• Overall, 55% of respondents stated that there was an effect. By region/country, respondents from the United States
had the highest percentage of respondents who said there was an effect, at 80%.
• While more than half of the respondents in Korea, Japan, South America, Australia, and UK indicated there was aneffect, the rate was less than 40% in Africa, India, Eastern Europe & the former Soviet Union, China, Taiwan, and theMiddle East.

This survey includes a section where respondents are invited to provide their opinions and write about theenvironmental realities they face in their region of the world, as well as offer suggestions for improvement. This
year, we received a total of 1,022 comments, including 716 from 104 countries abroad and 286 comments fromJapan. These comments, along with comments on Question 2 will be published on the Asahi Glass Foundation
website on September 8th at 11 a.m.

For more information, please contact:
Junichi Shimizu, Director, Commendation, “Blue Plant Prize”
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

5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 questionnaires areproduced in six languages (English, Chinese, French, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish) and are sent out around April
each year, and collected by June. After the responses are compiled, compared, and analyzed, the survey results areannounced in September. The report is available in five languages. The pie chart below shows the affiliation of thequestionnaire respondents in descending order. The questionnaire was sent to respondents in 211 countries including
Japan, with responses returning from 130 countries.
Number of Countries Surveyed
Regions

Countries

U.S.A & Canada

2

Central America,
Caribbean countries

28

South America

12

Western Europe

28

Eastern Europe &former Soviet Union

28

Africa56

Middle East

16

Asia

24

Oceania16Japan

1Total211• Facts about This Year’s Questionnaire
Survey period: Questionnaires were sent out in April 2017 with a return deadline of June 2017
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 Foundationdatabase)
Questionnaires mailed: 29,214 (27,985 to 210 countries and 1,229 within Japan)
Questionnaires returned: 2,152
Response rate: 7.4%

Breakdown of respondents by region:
RegionOceanaUnited States & Canada
Central America, Caribbean countries
South America
Western Europe
AfricaMiddle East
Eastern Euroe & former Soviet Union
Asia
Total

6

Number of responses
80282
47
63251
87
39521251
2152

Percent of total %
3.7
13.1
2.2
2.9
11.7
4.01.8
2.4
58.1100