Some two-thirds (66%) of Americans who are aware of the Live Earth concerts are planning to watch the events on July 7, and 51% say the event would inspire them to do more to combat climate change, but the vast majority is barely aware of the brands sponsoring the concert series, according to a survey by Lightspeed Research and the Ethical Reputation Index.

The survey, carried out among Americans, Australians and Britons between June 22 and 26 explored the issue of climate change in the run-up to Live Earth series of concerts - 24-hour, seven-continent events with an expected global audience of 2 billion people.

Nearly two-thirds - 66% - of Americans aware of Live Earth said such events are an effective way to get people to change their behavior; most - 57% - say within 10 years’ time climate change will have a major impact on society, according to the survey.

Respondents were also asked to identify the sponsors of the Live Earth event. Though some struggled to identify the companies supporting the event, sponsor awareness among Americans was higher than in the UK and Australia, the study found.

Nearly half (49%) of the US respondents said they don’t know who the sponsors are. Pepsi was correctly noted as a sponsor by 19% - the highest proportion correctly identifying a sponsor. Coke and Yahoo were incorrectly identified as sponsors by 19% each.

According to the study, Americans also say both the government and companies have role to play in addressing the issue of climate change:

• 87% of respondents said the government should do more, with the most popular option being increased penalties for the worst business offenders, new legislation to force companies to clean up and support for community projects.
• 90% said companies should do more, from recycling, to reducing packaging, to creating more energy efficient offices.

About the study: Lightspeed Research and the Ethical Reputation Index surveyed 500 18-45 year olds who were aware of the Live Earth event, online, in each of the three countries - the UK, US and Australia - between June 22 and 26, 2007.