The global financial crisis has not taken the heat off the desire for government action on climate change, according to research by the HSBC Climate Partnership.

HSBC’s latest Climate Confidence Monitor shows nearly half of Australians surveyed put climate change as a greater concern than the global economy.

“Consumer expectations are proving resilient to the current economic crisis,” the report said. “43% of those surveyed (around the world) chose climate change ahead of global economic stability when asked about their top three concerns, despite the survey taking place in the midst of the financial market turmoil in September-October 2008.”

Four out of five Australians also believe the world’s top economies need to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions to allow less developed economies to grow.

The research alleviates concern some climate change advocates – such as Zurich Australia Corporate Responsibility Manager Alice Cahill, a climate change ambassador for former US Vice President Al Gore – have about the economic crisis taking the focus off the climate change threat.

Ms Cahill has urged insurers, governments and the public not to take their eyes off the long-term threat of climate change by focusing all their energy on short-term financial risks.

But the HSBC report suggests the economy, which has been wracked by turmoil in the financial markets, is merely a secondary concern to Australians at the moment.