Kevin Gill / CC
71 percent of Louisianans believe in climate change according to a survey aimed at measuring support for coastal restoration.
While a strong majority of Louisianans agree climate change is real, pollster Greg Rigamer says the percentage of those who believe in the phenomenon varies between different regions.
“New Orleans metropolitan area is the highest with 88 percent, north Louisiana about 78 percent, the Acadian area (not the coastal area) about 58 percent.”
62 percent agree that climate change is real in the Lafourche/Terrebonne Parish region, where a significant amount of the state’s coastal erosion is taking place.
68 percent of respondents agree that extreme weather events are becoming more frequent, and Rigamer says a majority are concerned about those impacts.
“Is extreme weather having a great impact on your life? 57 percent say yes, 42 percent say no.”
While 71 percent may agree that climate change is real, only half of the respondents think it’s having an impact on their lives right now.
But Rigamer says there appears to be some difference in the number who believe in climate change, and the number who believe that weather events are getting more extreme.
“74 percent say that weather events are becoming more extreme, and 57 percent believe it impacts their lives now. 80 percent believe that extreme weather events will impact their future.”
The poll was commissioned by Restore the Mississippi River Delta.
