An online survey of 19,520 adults in 27 countries found that optimism about climate change correlates with a country's economic development. Within countries, those with lower education and income were less optimistic. The biggest expectation gap was found between younger and older generations. This creates a "solutions gap" where attitudes are determined more by attributes like country, education, income and age rather than the available solutions. Closing this gap requires communicating the "solutions story" more effectively.