Earth4All, with the Club of Rome, today launched its 2026 Survey Report. The results are very relevant to IEF interests, as illustrated in some of the points made at the report launch. For example, 61 percent want action now to protect the planet, but there is little trust in governments to deliver on this, as the economic system is seen as rigged in favour of the rich and powerful, increasing inequality. With media manipulation, societies are increasingly fractured, so strong public support does not lead to action. The poor see efforts on climate action as another way for the rich to protect their interests while making the poor pay the costs. The following is the Executive Summary of the report. We encourage you to look at the full report, which is full of graphics to make its messages easy to understand.

Rebuild Trust: Rigged economies, fractured societies and the case for change

In the year that one person’s wealth passed 1 trillion dollars, 4 out of 10 people across the largest economies on Earth worry that they will not have enough money to cover their basic needs over the next 12 months.

In 2026, Earth4All conducted our third G20 survey with Ipsos. Following our previous surveys on the global commons and planetary stewardship, this time we wanted to understand social cohesion and social tension - important factors in building momentum for transformation. People across the G20 want their economies transformed, but they no longer trust their governments to achieve this change. Seven in ten say there is too much inequality (70%), that the system is rigged to benefit the rich and powerful (65%) and that the economy needs major change (69%).

Yet only 31% believe their government will make decisions that benefit people 20 or 30 years from now. Across these societies, people — rich and poor, left and right, top of the ladder and bottom — have stopped believing the state will act in their long-term interest. This is the central finding of the Earth for All Survey 2026. Two in three feel their country is more divided than a decade ago (67%), and 40% would now prefer a strong leader unconstrained by parliament and elections. The mandate for change is overwhelming but the trust to deliver it has collapsed. And that collapse runs through the whole social fabric.

A near-universal diagnosis: the system is perceived as rigged everywhere

• 70% say there is too much economic inequality in their country, and 65% that the economic system is “rigged to benefit the rich and powerful”; 69% want major changes to the economic system, against only 8% who disagree.

• The climate mandate is real but conditional. 54% accept strong government action on emissions even at the cost of higher prices, but support falls sharply among lower-income, lower-status and right-leaning respondents, and is markedly higher in lower- and upper-middle-income countries than in high-income ones.

A society that feels itself coming apart

• Two in three people (67%) say their country is more divided than it was 10 years ago.

• 71% perceive serious tension between supporters of different political parties, 63% between people on high and low incomes, 62% between immigrants and the native-born, and 53% between the climate-concerned and the sceptical.

The trust deficit at the heart of societies

• Long-term trust is the weakest link: fewer than a third of people (31%) trust their government to make decisions that will benefit the majority of people 20 or 30 years from now.

• Support for democracy holds, but it is contested. 68% say democracy is the best way to govern their country, yet 40% say their country would be better off with a strong leader unconstrained by parliament and elections — rising above half in several upper-middle-income countries.

A mandate for systemic economic change

The survey results, backed by our previous surveys and recent related surveys by independent groups, show that the majority of people want economic systems change. It seems there is a profound mismatch between public support for economic change and what mainstream political parties are willing to offer. This opens the door for new social contracts between governments and publics that promise economic systems change for the benefit of the majority, at a time of deep turbulence.

Countries surveyed

The survey, conducted by Ipsos, focused on G20 countries plus Sweden. China and Saudi Arabia were not included in the survey due to sensitivities relating to questions that are of a political nature. Russia was not included due to the Ukrainian war. Together, the 17 countries surveyed account for 58% of global GDP, 38% of the world’s population and 37% of global CO₂ emissions from fossil fuels and industry.

Citation: Gaffney, O., Pickett, K., Baumgartner, P., Belly-Le Guilloux, L., Kellerhoff, T., Barbara, C., Klinkenberg, S. and Spittler, N. (2026) Rebuild Trust: Rigged economies, fractured societies and the case for change. Earth4All.

SOURCE: https://earth4all.life/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Rebuild-Trust-Earth-f…