New Study Reveals Americans Believe Stopping Climate Change is a “Moral Obligation”

A new study by Reuters/IPSOS has found that a majority of Americans see it as a "moral obligation" to reduce carbon emissions and stop climate change, to ensure the continued health of the planet.

The poll, conducted in February, polled over 2,800 Americans to determine how much moral language is used in regards to the debate over climate change.  The research itself was unknowingly prompted by Pope Francis, who has grown ever more forceful in his talks about the moral implications of ignoring climate change that would affect the world's poor much more than the rest of the world's richer populations.

Some observers believe the pope's message can resonate beyond his own church.  "The moral imperative is the way to reach out to conservatives," said Rev. Mitch Hescox, president of the Evangelic Environmental Network, a large evangelical organization that advocates for action on climate change. "Talking in terms of values is the only way forward if we are to bring our fellow Republicans along."

The results were clear that approaching the issue of climate change from a moral standpoint could be more effective in swaying opinion, and this approach could even help unlock the endless debate in the United States.  Those invested in fossil fuels have been resistant to those that seek to reduce carbon emissions in the United States, much to the disappointment and alarm of climate scientists in both the United States and around the world. 

The research study clearly showed that a majority of Americans want to see a change in CO2 emissions, with 66 percent of respondents saying that world leaders are morally obligated to take positive steps to reduce these emissions.  In addition, 72 percent of people surveyed felt a personal moral responsibility to reduce their emissions in their own daily lives.

Eric Sapp, the executive director of the American Values Network, a grassroots organization whose mission it is to encourage faith-based communities to engage in policy issues like global warming, believes that viewing the issue through a moral lens could be the key to breaking the deadlock and creating effective change.

According to Sapp, for many, the complexities and intricacies surrounding the climate debate are often too complex with their often scientific and economic concepts that can be difficult to understand.  But making the debate a moral issue and about doing the right thing, the issue tends to resonate in a way that many people just can't ignore.