Around seven in every 10 Filipinos believe that climate change is dangerous for the environment, the Philippines and their respective families, according to a recent survey by Pulse Asia.

Results of the Sept. 10 to 14 survey released yesterday revealed that 68 percent of the respondents believe that climate change is dangerous for the environment.

Some 11 percent said it is not dangerous, while 21 percent were undecided.

Another 69 percent said climate change is dangerous for the Philippines, with 10 percent saying it is not dangerous and 21 percent undecided.

Asked about their view on climate change and its impact on their families, 71 percent said it was dangerous, while 12 percent said it is not dangerous.

Another 17 percent were ambivalent.

The survey found a slim majority of the respondents saying they either have sufficient or wide knowledge about climate change.

Eleven percent said they have 'wide knowledge' about climate change, down two points from 13 percent obtained in a similar survey conducted in June last year, while 44 percent said their knowledge about the issue is 'not wide but sufficient,' up from 34 percent last year.

Meanwhile, 40 percent said they have 'little knowledge' about climate change while five percent said they have no or 'almost no knowledge' about the issue, down from 46 percent and seven percent, respectively.

By area, knowledge about climate change is highest among those in the Visayas (13 percent 'wide knowledge,' 56 percent 'sufficient knowledge'), followed by those in Metro Manila (nine percent 'wide knowledge,' 48 percent 'sufficient knowledge'), rest of Luzon (eight percent 'wide knowledge,' 44 percent 'sufficient knowledge') and Mindanao (14 percent 'wide knowledge,' 34 percent 'sufficient knowledge').

In contrast, the lack of knowledge about climate change is highest among those in Mindanao (40 percent 'little knowledge,' 11 percent 'almost no knowledge/none'), followed by those in Balance Luzon (45 percent 'little knowledge,' three percent 'almost no knowledge/none'), Metro Manila (41 percent 'little knowledge,' five percent 'almost no knowledge/none') and the Visayas (29 percent 'little knowledge,' two percent 'almost no knowledge/none').

The respondents were also asked 'how big or little is climate change?' in their place in the past three years.

Some 65 percent said they experienced big climate change, while 11 percent said it was small. The remaining 24 percent were undecided.

Asked for what they think is the primary reason that calamities happen, 46 percent said it is due to the destructive ways of people who regularly abuse the environment, down 18 points from the 64 percent in the June 2022 survey.

Some 32 percent said it is due to 'natural processes that regularly occur worldwide' (up from 19 percent), while 21 percent said it is 'God's warning or punishment to nations turning to evil ways' (up from 16 percent).

The Pulse Asia survey had 1,200 respondents and a margin of error of plus/minus 2.8 percent for the national percentages.

Comprehensive

In a related development, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is urging finance departments to lead efforts in addressing climate change, given their functions that will allow a more comprehensive government approach.

'Central agencies, notably ministries of finance, must champion a comprehensive government-wide approach, encompassing all pertinent agencies and incorporating climate considerations into public financial management and public investment management policies and decisions,' ADB director for public sector management and governance Hiranya Mukhopadhyay, ADB principal public management specialist Hanif Rahemtulla and public-private partnership expert David Bloomgarden said in the multilateral lender's latest blog.

With environment and climate change departments often leading climate policy development and implementation, finance departments are being overlooked in their capability to guide climate action, according to Mukhopadhyay, Rahemtulla and Bloomgarden.

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