Bangkok - More than half of the people living in developing Asia see US President Barack Obama as the man to spearhead a treaty to stop climate change, according to a poll published Thursday. Fifty-three per cent chose Obama from a list of 13 leaders, which also included British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Chinese President Hu Jintao and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Thais and Filipinos expressed the most confidence in Obama with 56 and 85 per cent, respectively, saying they believed he was capable of taking decisive action to tackle the problem.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono won the second most votes with 15 per cent, followed by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with 14 per cent.
The poll was conducted in August by the market research firm Synovate on behalf of Greenpeace South-East Asia, the World Wide Fund for Nature and 350.org, an international campaign pushing for a climate treaty to lower greenhouse gas emissions.
A total of 6,063 people from China, India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand were questioned for the survey, aimed at gauging public opinion ahead of a resumption of UN climate change talks in Bangkok on September 28 and climate summit in December in Copenhagen, where world leaders are to meet to craft a new global treaty to control emissions.
The poll also found 73 per cent of those surveyed believed it was the responsibility of the rich, developed countries to take the lead because they were historically responsible for most greenhouse gases.
However, 79 per cent also wanted their own governments to act and "show leadership to reduce the risk from climate change."
Almost 60 per cent wanted their governments to take a positive role at the Copenhagen summit.
"The poll results reflect the collective aspirations and wisdom of urban Asians, sending a strong signal to leaders of the developed world, especially President Obama, to cooperate with the developing countries for fair and appropriate contributions towards global emission reduction targets," Greenpeace campaign director Shailendra Yashwant said.
