Climate change awareness increasing - survey

MANILA, Philippines - Climate change awareness is increasing.

Research firm Synovate talked to more than 2,500 Filipino, Thai, and Indonesian respondents, and most (79 percent) of those interviewed believe that there is cause for concern when it comes to climate change.

In the Philippines, the survey was conducted among 1,000 residents of Metro Manila, aged 15-64 years across all socio economic classes.

There is general concern about climate change (82 percent), and this is higher among women and the younger generation, specifically those in their late 20s to early 30s

“As far as what they thought the dangers of climate change would bring to the world and to the individual, the biggest number of respondents believed that heat stroke, spread of diseases that could lead to poor health, and erratic or extreme weather conditions we are currently experiencing top the list,” said Carole Sarthou, managing director of Synovate in the Philippines.

Sarthou presented Synovate’s findings at the Climate Change Awareness Workshop 1 held recently at the UP College of Mass Communication.

In terms of responsibility, virtually everyone (96 percent) of those surveyed in Manila believed that it is up to the individual to reduce the effects of climate change.

The respondents believe that the main cause of the earth’s climate change are people themselves – human causes (waste, population increase, electricity, etc) and irresponsible practices that lead to deforestation and pollution.

Thus, to address climate change, most of the respondents acknowledge that it   would mean changing the behavior of ordinary citizens, 63 percent of Filipinos responded.