United States
RNS
Catholics and Hispanics are among the most concerned in the US about the impact of climate change, with Gen Z and millennials more likely to take collective action on the matter, according to a new survey commissioned by the international humanitarian agency Catholic Relief Services.
While a majority of Americans (81 per cent) are very or somewhat concerned about the impact of climate change in the US, Hispanics (92 per cent) were among the most worried about it, compared with Black (86 per cent) and white (76 per cent) respondents.
A dry riverbed due to a prolonged drought in southern Madagascar in 2016. PICTURE: Heidi Yanulis for Catholic Relief Services
Gen Z (84 per cent) and millennials (87 per cent) are more likely than Gen X (76 per cent) to voice concerns about the impact of climate change in the US.
When factoring in faith, more Catholics (85 per cent) expressed concern about the effects of climate change in the US than non-Catholic respondents (79 per cent).
Additionally, American Catholics were found to be five times more likely to express that climate change is a shared responsibility than their non-Catholic counterparts – a finding that resonated with Bill O’Keefe, who is Catholic Relief Services’ executive vice president of mission, mobilisation and advocacy.
“I’m not surprised by that given our church teaching about the common good, and our care for the poor, and our Holy Father’s leadership, in connecting through Laudato Si’, the care for our environment and care for vulnerable human beings,” O’Keefe said in a virtual news conference on Tuesday, when the survey’s findings were released.
“The Gospel calls us to care for creation,” O’Keefe added.
Conducted online between 24th and 30th August this year, the survey included 2,009 US adults. The results were analysed in total as well as by generation, region, race/ethnicity and religious affiliation (Catholic vs non-Catholic). About one in four survey participants (24 per cent) described their religious affiliation as Catholic. The survey’s report did not provide a breakdown of the participants’ varying faiths, aside from Catholicism, and how that corresponded with their responses.
Brittany Wichtendahl, a spokesperson for CRS, said the agency focused on Catholic and Hispanic demographics.
“As an organisation of the US Catholic Church, we were particularly interested in the perspectives of Catholics as well as Hispanics in the US, being the fastest growing Catholic demographic,” Wichtendahl said, adding that respondents did not know it was a Catholic-sponsored survey.
These findings come in the wake of recent international climate emergencies, including massive flooding in Pakistan that left a third of the country under water, displaced millions and killed more than 1,600 people. CRS, which operates in more than 100 countries, set up a relief fund and provided immediate cash assistance to more than 3,800 families affected by the flooding. The agency has also begun to help thousands of households get their water sources repaired.
The survey is also part of the agency’s new campaign to mobilise Catholics in the US and others to support programming that helps provide farmers with drought-tolerant seeds and that creates evacuation plans in disaster-prone areas impacted by powerful storms. The agency is creating chapters and clubs in high schools, colleges and parishes. CRS is also urging Congress to provide funding for the Green Climate Fund, which underwrites major renewable energy projects.
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Lheslye Perez, chief of party for CRS in Guatemala, said the country has experienced more frequent and stronger storms. Two recent tropical storms destroyed potato crops in the Guatemalan region of Chortiz. High humidity also contributed to the death of sheep and goats, which are main sources of income in the region.
She said CRS helped with food and hygiene products but fears that “this situation can and will happen again.” Perez, at the news conference, recalled a resident telling her that despite not having access to electricity or safe water, their “biggest challenge is that we have been forgotten.”
“The poorest families, the most vulnerable are the ones who pay the hardest consequences of climate change,” she said.
Overall, the CRS survey found that a majority of Americans agree immediate action is necessary to limit the impact of climate change in the US (75 per cent) and other countries (69 per cent), and more than half (55 per cent) feel the US has a responsibility to help countries suffering from the effects of climate change. “Gen Z and millennials particularly feel this sense of responsibility to other countries,” the survey found.
Presented with a list of words that may be associated with climate change, more than three-quarters (77 per cent) of survey participants chose heat waves, while about two in three associated climate change with drought (68 per cent, and/or flooding (66 per cent). About 62 per cent cited rising sea levels, and half (49 per cent) associated it with not enough food and water.
Actions Americans Report Taking to Combat Climate Change” Graphic courtesy of Catholic Relief Services
According to survey findings, most Americans (85 per cent) have taken steps to reduce the impact of climate change, the most common being that they separated trash from items that can be recycled (64 per cent). More than half (56 per cent) have reduced water usage, and 38 per cent have shifted to more eco-friendly brands. About one in five say they have composted (22 per cent) and/or supported an organisation that fights climate change (19 per cent). Fewer bought a hybrid or electric vehicle (12 per cent) and/or participated in a march, protest or boycott (11 per cent) to call attention to the impact of climate change.
The survey found that younger people are the most likely to take bigger or more collective steps to address climate change, with 30 per cent of Gen Z and 25 per cent of millennials saying they have supported an organisation that fights climate change, compared with 14 per cent of Gen X and 16 per cent of baby boomers.
Topping motivating factors for Americans to take action against climate change are drought-induced famines (48 per cent) and catastrophic, widespread flooding (47 per cent), followed by globalisation (44 per cent), according to the survey.
Two in five feel they would be motivated to act by more frequent and powerful storms (40 per cent) and/or fighting for diminishing resources (39 per cent). Nearly as many cite their faith/values (35 per cent), while increased migration (23 per cent) is least likely to spur Americans into action to help other countries fight the effects of climate change, the survey found.
