MANILA, Philippines – A big majority of Filipino adults or 65% of respondents in Pulse Asia’s Ulat ng Bayan survey reported feeling a big change in the climate in their area in the past three years.

This is consistent to findings recorded in June 2022, where 63% of Filipino adults felt a big change in climate.

Compared to last year’s survey, there was considerable increase in people from Visayas and Mindanao who perceived the effects of climate change in their area.

The survey, released on Monday, October 9, was conducted from September 10 to 14, 2023, through face-to-face interviews with a sample of 1,200 representatives. The survey has a 2.8% error margin at 95% confidence level.

At the time the survey was conducted, Manila Bay reclamation projects were suspended, a price cap on regular and well-milled rice was imposed, and southwest monsoon rain was enhanced by passing typhoons.

Climate change ‘dangerous’ to environment, people

Majority to most respondents found climate change to be dangerous for the environment, the country, and to themselves and their families.

The survey found that 68% of adults said climate change is dangerous for the environment, while 69% said it is dangerous for the Philippines.

From June 2022 to September 2023, this sentiment became more pronounced among people from Visayas and Mindanao.

A big majority of respondents at 71% also agreed there was danger posed by climate change to themselves and their families.

Almost half of the adult population at 46% attribute calamities to human-made environmental destruction. This is lower from the 64% of adults who felt this way last June 2022.

Meanwhile, 32% of respondents thought that calamities are just natural processes that occur around the world.

The other 21% believed calamities are forms of punishment from God to countries that “have turned to evil ways.”

Do Filipinos know enough about climate change?

Filipinos described themselves as either having sufficient or little knowledge about climate change. Almost half reported having sufficient knowledge on the matter. This shows an increase from the 34% of respondents that described their knowledge of climate change this way last June 2022.

The other half at 40% described having little knowledge of the subject.

From the survey, it can be surmised that knowledge on climate change among adults has been improving.

On the one hand, there was a decrease of adults across regions reporting having little knowledge. On the other hand, there was an increase in adults across regions saying they have sufficient knowledge.

Check the full survey here. –Rappler.com