Just a few days ago, so many viewers tuned in to watch Blue Planet II’s latest episode on China’s Tencent Video online channel that the country’s internet slowed down to a crawl. It is believed that around 80 million viewers have watched the first two episodes of Blue Planet’s sequel so far, dwarfing the UK’s equally brilliant ratings of 14 million viewers each. The 12 November episode explored the ocean’s coral reefs, revealing that almost half of the world’s reefs have been affected by bleaching, threatening their existence.

This heightened interest in climate change by the Chinese public is supported by the findings from a recent survey released on conducted by the Center for China Climate Change Communication (CCCCC). CCCCC is the first think tank dedicated to climate change communications research and practice in developing countries, and its survey showed that 94 percent of respondents support China’s implementation of the Paris Agreement, while 96.8 percent agree the country should participate in international cooperation to tackle climate change.

Covering 4,025 ordinary people from China’s 332 prefecture-level administrative units and four centrally-controlled municipalities, it provided a comprehensive picture of public understanding of climate change in terms of causes, influence, methods of response, government policies and communication effect, etc. More than 90 percent of the respondents support the central government’s measures in mitigation and adaption, indicating China’s commitment to addressing climate change is responding to public wishes.