Not U.S., India Spearheaded in Combating Climate Change: Survey

"They unplug appliances from the socket when not using them more frequently than anyone else," the survey noted.

While conservation correlates with financial discipline across the six countries in the survey, "India is also unique," the Time said noting, "It is a burgeoning superpower with stark energy challenges."

"These systemic challenges appear to have shaped attitudes toward energy, driving both social consciousness and innovation," it said.

Asked what concern guides their energy habits, Indians cited minimizing their environmental footprint (46 percent) over curbing costs (34 percent) or maximizing comfort (21 percent).

Though Indians are widely cognisant of climate issues, they're more optimistic than their peers about the world's ability to cope with the challenges, Time said.

More than 60 percent of Indians say they believe the world can slash carbon emissions 80 percent by 2050, compared to 37 percent of respondents overall.

Of the six nations surveyed by Time, India was only one in which a majority was optimistic about the potential to achieve that level of cuts.

The survey was conducted among 3,505 online respondents equally divided between the U.S., Brazil, Germany, Turkey, India and Korea.

Polling was conducted from May 10 to May 22. The overall margin of error overall is 1.8 percent, Time said.

--With IANS inputs

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