Less than 50% of Filipinos say they know enough about climate change

Less than 50% of Filipino adults say that they know enough about climate change, a Pulse Asia survey showed Monday.

Results of the survey show that 44% of Filipino adults say they have sufficient knowledge about climate change while 40% say they have little knowledge.

“From June 2022 to September 2023, there is an increase in the percentage of Filipinos with enough knowledge about climate change (+10 percentage points) while the reverse occurs in terms of those with little knowledge (-6 percentage points),” the survey said.

Meanwhile, 48% of Filipinos in Metro Manila claim to have sufficient knowledge about climate change while only 41% say they have little.

The majority of Filipinos living in Luzon and Mindanao as well as all socio-economic groups, however, said that they have only little knowledge about climate change.

“The only exception is the Visayas, where a small majority of adult residents (56%) claim to have sufficient knowledge. Meanwhile, 11% of adults say they have wide knowledge about climate change while 5% have almost/completely no knowledge,” it said.

Despite this, 68% of Filipinos consider climate change to be dangerous for the environment, with the view being more prominent in Visayas and Mindanao.

Only 11% believe that climate change is not dangerous while 21% are ambivalent on the matter, according to the survey.

Meanwhile, 71% of Filipino adults believe that climate change is dangerous to themselves and their families, 12% say climate change is not dangerous, and 17% are undecided.

Results of the survey also show that 46% of Filipinos attribute calamities to human-made environmental destruction while 32% believe that calamities are natural processes.

Around 21%, meanwhile, believe that calamities serve as warnings or some form of punishment from God.

The survey, conducted from September 10 to 14, had 1,200 respondents and a ± 2.8 percent error margin. — LA, GMA Integrated News