Climate change is most important for Latinos, after immigration reform

Latinos demonstrate one of the highest levels of support for government action against climate change, according to polling data from the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Historically, Latinos have been one of the most passionate groups in favor for reducing air pollution and taking measures against climate change, and the latest extensive polling data reveals that the Latino community is as passionate as ever about the issue.

SEE ALSO: Climate change hits the U.S. hard

In collaboration with the NRDC, Latino Decisions conducted a poll in late 2013 to assess Latinos’ outlook on climate change. The results were overwhelmingly in favor of government action to combat the negative effects of climate change.

The poll concluded that 90 percent of registered Latino voters believe that it’s important for the government to take action against climate change, with 41 percent of Latinos calling the issue “extremely important”. Over half of Latinos claim to be very or extremely concerned about climate change, making it one of the hottest political topics amongst Latino voters.

Latinos rank climate change as the second most important political issue, falling just behind immigration reform. These views are prevalent across ages, income levels, sub-groups, and political parties, although Latino Republicans showed slightly less support for government action against climate change than Latino Democrats.

The findings also showed that Latinos felt strongly about building a better environment for their children and future generations. A majority of those polled believe that government action against climate change is important for creating a better environment for their families.

On June 26, Voces Verdes will host a Google+ Hangout to discuss climate change’s impact on the Latino Community. The Hangout is co-sponsored by VOXXI, Latino Giant, and Green For All, and features guest speaker Gina McCarthy, administrator from the Environmental Protection Agency.

McCarthy has worked for over 30 years at both state and local levels to bring attention and change to environmental issues. She was appointed to Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation in 2009 by President Obama.

The hangout will discuss an issue that is of utmost important to Latinos: climate change and its effect on the community.

SEE ALSO: Latinos and the environment, change is afoot