KEY POINTS:
About a third of people believed climate change was an urgent problem even before a report came out last week warning of its serious impact on the country.
The Business Council for Sustainable Development has released results from nationwide research done this month that found 77 per cent
of people believed climate change was a problem.
About 35 per cent classed the problem as urgent and immediate.
The ShapeNZ online survey was done between April 4 and 7, had 960 respondents and the weighted results are accurate within two percentage points.
Last week an international scientific report on climate change in New Zealand warned of increased floods, droughts and fires in the country as well as a loss of biodiversity and sea level rises in the next century.
Peter Neilson, the business council chief executive, said the survey had put forward various options and the results gave political leaders their strongest pointers yet on how to effectively respond to climate change.
Mr Neilson said the council's 56 member companies' annual sales equated to about 40 per cent of the country's gross domestic product.
The poll found nine in 10 respondents would support a Government policy of mass housing insulation programmes as run in the United Kingdom.
About 77 per cent agreed on the need to cut waste whether or not climate change was happening.
Mr Neilson said there was also strong support for the Government to subsidise fuel-efficient and climate-friendly cars as planned by the Canadian Government.
"Paying a cash incentive to buyers of new and used imported fuel-efficient and low-emission vehicles is supported by 84 of every 100 Kiwis."
Mr Neilson said research by the business council showed such a policy would cost about $80 million net a year but put 430,000 clean vehicles into the national fleet over five years.
Transport emissions were the second highest behind agriculture and there was an opportunity to take a big and quick hit on dirty cars and dirty air, he said.
Other options that drew support included cutting annual registration fees for vehicles with smaller engines (86 per cent support), putting up registration fees for vehicles with the largest engines (56 per cent support, 36 per cent oppose), or requiring car importers to make sure they achieved an average engine size across their stock (68 per cent support, 19 per cent oppose).
Mr Neilson said the survey also drew support for incentives to develop tidal and wave power, to develop bio- fuel from forestry waste wood and other alternative fuel technologies.
Just over half supported investment in lowering animal emissions.