Less than one-half of Filipino adults say that they know enough about climate change, a Pulse Asia survey showed Monday.
Results of the latest survey show that 44 percent of Filipino adults assert they have sufficient knowledge about climate change, while 40 percent admit they have little knowledge of the issue.
“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 stated.
Metro Manilans indicated they were more knowledgeable about climate change, while only 41% say they know only little about the topic.
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 percent) claim to have sufficient knowledge. Meanwhile, 11 percent of adults say they have wide knowledge about climate change while five percent have almost/completely no knowledge,” the survey stated.
Despite this, 68 percent of Filipinos consider climate change to be dangerous for the environment, with the view being more prominent in Visayas and
Mindanao.
Only 11 percent believe that climate change is not dangerous while 21% are ambivalent on the matter, according to the survey.
Meanwhile, 71 percent of Filipino adults believe that climate change is dangerous to themselves and their families, 12 percent say climate change is
not dangerous, and 17 percent are undecided.
Results of the survey also show that 46 percent of Filipinos attribute calamities to human-made environmental destruction while 32 percent believe that calamities are natural processes.
Around 21 percent, 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.