The global level of worry over climate change has climbed to more than seven out of every ten people concerned about the state of our planet. Where it gets startling, though, is in some individual countries where concern has rocketed over the past year.

Most notable was the United States, an oft-maligned nation when it comes to the environment, where concern shot up to 80% in 2008, from 57% in 2007.

Synovate's Senior Vice President of the US-based Consumer Insights group, Bob Michaels, puts this down to a new focus on the future.

"With fuel and energy costs continuing to rise in the States, Americans have become much more concerned about climate change and how their choices in day-to-day living might affect future quality of life for them... and for their children."

Other countries with huge jumps in levels of concern included the United Kingdom (up to 85%, from 74% in 2007), France (up to 85%, from 72%), Denmark (up to 79%, from 62%), India (up to 72%, from 59%) and Russia (up to 57%, from 43%).

Like last year, the highest level of concern was found in Spain and Brazil.

Antonio Malillos, Director of Synovate's Brand & Communications Practice in Spain, says Spanish concern is linked to issues as old as the hills.

"The high levels of concern in Spain can be explained by fear - fear of drought and fear of a lack of drinking water. This is a permanent threat for half the population and, even though the issue has been around longer than climate change has been in the public consciousness, it is now inextricably linked with climate change in people's minds."

It's not easy being green

It's crunch time. People are worried. Climate change is mainstream and green is the new norm. So is all this concern converting to action? The survey asked people around the world what they were actually doing to help combat global warming.

Synovate's global head of media, Steve Garton, said he was heartened to see big jumps in actions taken across many markets in the world.

"Getting people to change ingrained behaviour is a huge challenge for governments and marketers alike. Yet the past year has seen major changes in attitudes and behaviour. Why? A combination of reasons - awareness, pragmatism and fear. The result is the new people power... daily actions that all add up.

"And the interesting thing is that in many markets, people are taking the lead, not governments."

So which markets have seen this wholesale change? The biggest changes have taken place in Australia, Canada, France, Spain, the United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and the United States... but there have also been significant changes in Germany (already quite high on many 'green' activities), Russia, South Africa and India.

Click here to see year-on-year results.

America earns its green stripes

You cannot get past the fact that more emissions come from the US than anywhere else (although arguably China is about to take over!). So what happens in America matters... there, and to the rest of the world. The good news is that, with that huge leap in concern from 57% to 80%, Americans are standing up to be counted, taking responsibility and changing their ways.

We asked Americans what they thought was the cause of climate change... in 2007, just 13% blamed human causes like land clearing, pollution, waste, population and so on. That figure has trebled in 2008 and 39% of Americans now say people are the main cause of climate change.

Bob Michaels attributes this to a strong American belief in personal responsibility.

"It's clear that the planet is changing. And when something changes, something or someone must be to blame. After a year of unprecedented media coverage, Americans think human behaviour is the major factor in climate change. This also means climate change could potentially be controlled if people behave differently... something we saw reflected in the rise in people taking individual actions."

So what have Americans changed?

There has been a more than 100% increase in people saying they inform themselves about climate change, from 31% in 2007 to two thirds of all Americans in 2008. Bob Michaels says: "This is likely because it's impossible not to! Everywhere you turn there is information about how to be greener, from magazine articles to product advertisements - and the topic arises in general conversation.

"This is probably why twice as many Americans in 2008 say they have bought green-friendly products compared to those who had in 2007 (65% versus 32%) and there has been a large increase in people saying they are now reusing packaging or bags (69% versus 38% in 2007)."

You can't ignore the impact of fuel prices on Americans' behaviour either. "Many more Americans say they will switch from gas-guzzlers to smaller cars (38% in 2008, versus 23% in 2007), probably more of a wallet-inspired decision than care for the environment but a change in approach nonetheless," Michaels said.

The past year has also seen the rise of the 'staycation' and it looks like it is here to stay. More than a third of Americans have changed their travel habits in 2008, versus only 14% in 2007.

Michaels added: "With the economic downturn in the US, and increases in the cost of food and fuel, US consumers have become much more like the rest of the world in the way they view and say they deal with energy issues. It has happened as suddenly as four dollars plus per gallon gas."

Green for good in China?

Of course another major carbon emitter in this world is China... a developing nation with a fast-growing economy, massive population and booming emissions as well.

So what do the Chinese make of all this climate change talk?

As with 2007, China comes in quite high on actions taken by consumers... three quarters of all Chinese respondents have bought a green product in the past year, 60% have bought energy efficient devices, 70% have reduced use of plastic bags and 82% have reduced power consumption.

But Synovate's CEO for China, Darryl Andrew, says there are quite different underlying reasons for these behaviours in China as opposed to Western countries.

"The Chinese actions may be the same as the actions of Western people, but they have little to do with the Western idea of 'environmentally-friendly'. Rather, Chinese people act green for two reasons... one, they look to the government for guidance and the Chinese Government is making decisions like power restrictions and plastic bag bans; and two, they have a very real desire to stay safe.

"In China, buying a green product may simply mean buying a safe product. It's a much more personal motivation, a pragmatism... a 'making sure what I buy is not going to harm my family or me'. Environmental friendliness is manifested at a personal benefits level.

"For this reason, brands marketing their green credentials in China will do well if they focus on natural products, quality and trust," Andrew said.

A climate for change

For the first time, the 2008 survey asked respondents across the world how they think climate change could best be tackled in their own countries. Across the world, 45% believe our best hope is through the changed behaviour of ordinary citizens. The citizens who show the highest sense of personal responsibility are from Indonesia (two thirds think ordinary citizens are the best way to address climate change), Thailand (64%) and the Philippines (59%).

Managing Director of Synovate in the Philippines, Carole Sarthou, puts this down to dismay over a lack of action from the government, which may not consider climate change as pressing compared to other social and economic issues.

"We have a history of people power in the Philippines and it looks like people are ready to seize the initiative when it comes to climate change too."

An overall 29% of people think the best answer lies with government-imposed restrictions and incentives and 20% are relying on technical break-throughs.

Nations most likely to look to their governments are South Africa (44%), Hong Kong (43%), Canada and China (both 42%).

Garton says: "This year's results show that awareness is turning into action and people believe their individual efforts can make a difference. There's a real 'it's up to me' sense of responsibility."

About the 2008 Synovate and BBC World News climate change survey

The Synovate Global Omnibus survey on climate change interviewed 18,453 respondents across 22 countries the USA, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Australia, India, Japan, Poland, UAE, UK, South Korea, Brazil, South Africa, Spain, Denmark, Russia, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines and Canada. The survey was conducted throughout the first quarter of 2008.

This is the second annual global Synovate and BBC World News climate change survey. The 2007 survey covered 21 markets. The 2008 survey covered 22 markets, including Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines for the first time. Italy, Norway and Singapore were surveyed in 2007, but not 2008.

Where year-on-year results have been given, the numbers refer to countries that participated in both surveys only. This is to ensure the comparisons are valid.