New Time on Doomsday Clock

The Asahi Glass Foundation Announces Results of the 28th Annual
“Questionnaire on Environmental Problems and the Survival of Humankind”

To see the full Asahi report go to: https://www.af-info.or.jp/en/questionnaire/doc/release2019.pdf

For the complete summary see:  https://www.af-info.or.jp/en/questionnaire/result.html

The average time on the Environmental Doomsday Clock was 9:46, almost same level as last year,
which showed the largest advancement since the inception of the survey.
● Similar to last year, respondents in three regions, including Oceania, USA & Canada and Western
Europe, reported a higher sense of crisis. The time on the Environmental Doomsday Clock also
advanced into the 9 o’clock range in Eastern Europe & former Soviet Union. Conversely,
respondents in Africa reported the lowest sense of crisis and, unlike in any of the other regions, the
Environmental Doomsday Clock time has remained in the 8 o’clock range there.
● By age, the Environmental Doomsday Clock time or sense of crisis was highest in respondents in
over the age of 60.
● Respondents most frequently selected “Climate Change” as the environmental issues to be taken into
account in selecting a time on the Environmental Doomsday Clock, consistent since 2011.
● Respondents most frequently selected “Biosphere Integrity” representing their sense of crisis about
the environment in terms of time.
● A new question was added in this year: “Do you see any signs of improvement in the approach to
global environmental issues?”
● Concerning the transition to a decarbonized society, improvements are recognizable overall,
although they vary by region and are minor.
● Respondents most frequently selected “Climate Change” as showing a sign of improvement from
efforts to solve environmental issues.

The Asahi Glass Foundation (Chairman: Kazuhiko Ishimura) has conducted surveys with environmental
experts around the world each year since 1992. This year, the questionnaire was distributed to 205
countries around the world, and we received responses from 2,072 respondents in 143 countries. Below
are the main points of this year ’s questionnaire results. Further details are available in the “Survey
Report of the 28th Annual Questionnaire on Environmental Problems and the Survival of Humankind,”
or online at the Foundation’s web site starting 11 a.m. on September 6th.
1. Awareness of the Crisis Facing Human Survival – The Environmental Doomsday Clock
1-1 The Environmental Doomsday Clock
・The average time on the Environmental Doomsday Clock for all respondents retreated by one minute to 9:46
compared last year.
Change over the years in the Environmental Doomsday Clock (Overall)
● The average time on the Environmental Doomsday Clock was 9:46, almost same level as last year,
which showed the largest advancement since the inception of the survey.
● Similar to last year, respondents in three regions, including Oceania, USA & Canada and Western
Europe, reported a higher sense of crisis. The time on the Environmental Doomsday Clock also
advanced into the 9 o’clock range in Eastern Europe & former Soviet Union. Conversely,
respondents in Africa reported the lowest sense of crisis and, unlike in any of the other regions, the
Environmental Doomsday Clock time has remained in the 8 o’clock range there.
● By age, the Environmental Doomsday Clock time or sense of crisis was highest in respondents in
over the age of 60.
● Respondents most frequently selected “Climate Change” as the environmental issues to be taken into
account in selecting a time on the Environmental Doomsday Clock, consistent since 2011.
● Respondents most frequently selected “Biosphere Integrity” representing their sense of crisis about
the environment in terms of time.
● A new question was added in this year: “Do you see any signs of improvement in the approach to
global environmental issues?”
● Concerning the transition to a decarbonized society, improvements are recognizable overall,
although they vary by region and are minor.
● Respondents most frequently selected “Climate Change” as showing a sign of improvement from
efforts to solve environmental issues.
For Immediate Release
・The respondents’ sense of crisis has almost remained at a same level as last year, when the Environmental
Doomsday Clock time was shown to have advanced the most since the inception of the survey in 1992.
The trend in the Environmental Doomsday Clock (2014-2019) (Overall)
・Of the 9 regions surveyed, the needle retreated in only two regions, includingAsia (9:48 to 9:38) andAfrica (9:28
to 8:59), whereas the needle advanced in all other regions.
・Asia was affected by the retreat of the Environmental Doomsday Clock time in China by 32 minutes (10:34 to
10:02).
・The Environmental Doomsday Clock time in Africa retreated by 29 minutes and is still before the 9 o’clock range.
・The advancement of the needle was largest in Eastern Europe & former Soviet Union, 31 minutes (8:42 to 9:13),
and the Environmental Doomsday Clock time in these regions reached the 9 o’clock range, although it had
remained in the 8 o’clock range since 2014.
・In analyzing the changes in the Environmental Doomsday Clock since the inception of the survey, respondents
have consistently indicated times in the “extremely concerned” quadrant in the 9 o’clock hour since 1996, with
the exception of 2000

Changes in the Environmental Doomsday Clock

1-2 Shifts in the Environmental Doomsday Clock Based on RespondentAge (2011 – 2019)
・The older the respondents, the higher their environmental awareness.
・Awareness about the environmental crisis among respondents in over the age of 60 is gently rising and is higher
than among any other age groups.
・The Environmental Doomsday Clock time for respondents in their 20s and 30s has significantly retreated this
year by 20 minutes. Since the inception of the survey in 2011, however, the clock time has generally advanced
every year (from 8:34 in 2011 to 9:40 in 2019).
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,
from the following nine categories of environmental problems, the most pressing issues in the country or region
where they lived, ranking the problems from 1 to 3. (See the 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. Biochemical Flows (Pollution/Contamination); 5. Water Resources; 6. Population; 7. Food;
8. Lifestyles (Consumption Habits); 9. Society, Economy and Environment, Policies, Measures
2-1 Selection Patterns for “Environmental issues to be taken into account” By Region
・The top two issues that the respondents selected and considered when writing the Environmental Doomsday Clock
time remained unchanged from last year worldwide: “Climate Change” ranked first (30.0%), followed by
“Biosphere Integrity (Biodiversity)” at 13.6%.
2-2 Ranking of Time on the Environmental Doomsday Clock for “Environmental issues to be taken into
account”
・Meanwhile, the ranking in the Environmental Doomsday Clock time differed from last year. “Food” ranked first
last year, but dropped to the seventh-ranked with the clock time retreating by 33 minutes (10:12 to 9:39), whereas
“Biosphere Integrity (Biodiversity),” having ranked third last year, ranked first this year with the clock time at
9:58. “Population” ranked second, as it did last year.
・Last year, the clock time reached the 10 o’clock range for two issues, including “Food” and “Population,” whereas
it remained in the 9 o’clock range for all issues this year. Nevertheless, the clock time is past 9:35 for all issues
and is comparatively advanced overall.
・”Climate Change” ranked first in the selection rates for “Environmental issues to be taken into account,” but
ranked third in terms of the Environmental Doomsday Clock.

About the “Questionnaire on Environmental Problems and the Survival of Humankind”
Since 1992, theAsahi Glass Foundation has conducted a survey each year with experts around the world who are
knowledgeable and are involved in environmental issues. The respondent pool includes government officials and
members of universities and research institutions, nongovernmental organizations, corporations and the media.
These experts are queried about various endeavors to counter environmental problems. The questionnaires are
produced 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 are
announced in September. The questionnaire was sent to respondents in 205 countries including Japan, with
responses returning from 143 countries. The highest respondent percentage by attribute is, University or research
institution, Corporation, NGO/NPO, Central government, Local government, Media in descending order.
Number of Countries Surveyed
● Facts about This Year’s Questionnaire
Survey period: Questionnaires were sent out in April 2019 with a return deadline of June 2019
Questionnaire respondent pool: Environmental experts selected frommembers of government organizations, NGOs,
academic and research institutions, corporations, and the media (based on the Asahi Glass
Foundation database).
Questionnaires mailed: 27,642 (more than 26,450 overseas and 1,192 in Japan)
Questionnaires returned: 2,072
Response rate: 7.5%
Breakdown of respondents by region:
[Region] Number of responses %
Japan 389 18.4
Overseas 1691 81.6
Overall total 2072 100.00
Asia (including Japan) 1156 55.8
Oceania 71 3.4
USA & Canada 232 11.2
Central America, Caribbean countries 64 3.1
South America 115 5.6
Western Europe 224 10.8
Africa 131 6.3
Middle East 40 1.9
Eastern Europe and former Soviet Union 39 1.9
Unknown area 0 0
Overall total 2072 100.00