File photo shows a farmer inspecting a rice field that was hit by a dry spell a few years back in North Upi, Maguindanao. (JEOFFREY MAITEM / Inquirer Mindanao)
MANILA, Philippines —An overwhelming 93 percent of adult Filipinos said they’d been personally affected by climate change in the last three years.
A Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey released on Thursday found, in particular, 17 percent of those surveyed felt a “severe impact,” and 52 percent reported a “moderate impact.”
The remaining respondents reported little to no effect.
Despite these grim findings, the survey also suggested that most Filipinos remain hopeful in the quest to mitigate climate change.
“The survey also found 88% agreeing (51% strongly agree, 37% somewhat agree) with the statement ‘People like me can do something to reduce climate risk or risks resulting from climate change,’ 10% undecided, and 3% disagreeing (2% somewhat disagree, 1% strongly disagree, correctly rounded),” the SWS added.
The SWS likewise found that 76 percent or three out of four Filipinos think that humanity could do something to mitigate the effects of climate change “if they really tried.”
Notably, “23% think climate change is beyond humanity’s control. One percent is unsure,” said the SWS.
Regarding climate change awareness, the SWS found that “there is a very high awareness of selected solutions to reduce the negative effects of climate change,” with four out of five Filipinos knowing what climate change is previously.
“The Fourth Quarter 2022 Social Weather Survey was conducted from December 10-14, 2022, using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults (18 years old and above) nationwide: 300 each in Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao. Face-to-face is the standard interviewing method for Social Weather Stations,” the SWS said.