Aussies have big climate impact: survey

Australians see climate change as the nation's biggest problem but appear unwilling to change their lives to reduce their large environmental footprint, an international survey has found.

Australia is tied in seventh place among 14 major developed and developing nations in the National Geographic's Greendex, a measure of sustainable consumption and behaviour.

Brazil and India tied for the highest score for their small footprint per capita, and US consumers were ranked the most wasteful.

Roughly a third of Australian consumers surveyed had nine rooms or more in their homes and most had air conditioning (70 per cent).

More than 90 per cent had one or more vehicles per household, second only to US consumers, and six out of 10 drove alone daily.

They also had the longest average commutes of those surveyed.

Australians ranked among the lowest in using public transport, with only 22 per cent catching a bus or train at least once a week.

When asked an open-ended question about the most urgent problem facing their country, Australians cited the environment/climate change - showing more concern on that count than any other national group surveyed.

However, they ranked second-to-last in the belief that environmental problems were having a negative impact on their health, with only nine per cent agreeing strongly.

Australians were among the least likely of the nations surveyed to believe global warming would worsen their own way of life (18 per cent), had low levels of guilt about their own environmental impact (nine per cent), and rated average in their belief that people need to consume a lot less to improve the environment for future generations (29 per cent).

Australian consumers received some acknowledgment for their water and energy conservation habits.

"Driven in part by their large household footprints and higher levels of car ownership and solo driving, Australian consumers rank in the middle of the pack," the Greendex report says.

"Australians do, however, exhibit more responsible behaviours than many others surveyed in terms of water use and energy-saving appliances."

The Greendex survey was conducted online earlier this year among 14,000 consumers - about 1,000 for each country.

A panel of 27 international experts in global sustainability helped identify which consumer behaviours were most crucial to investigate.