Poll: Climate concern drops in new Zealand

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WELLINGTON, New Zealand, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- The number of New Zealanders who say climate change is an urgent problem has fallen in the last four years, mirroring a similar U.S. drop, a poll indicated.

The poll conducted for the Carbon News Web site indicated that 52.4 percent of adult New Zealanders asked said they considered climate change to be an urgent problem; a similar poll in 2008 put that figure at 75.4 percent, China's Xinhua news agency reported Friday.

The drop was in line with a recent U.S. survey by Yale University that indicated the number of respondents ranking climate change as a high or very high priority for the U.S. government had dropped from 54 percent to 40 percent over the same period, Carbon News reported.

The New Zealand poll was taken as the country's government has reportedly been easing requirements on New Zealand industries for its recently established emissions trading scheme.