BALTIMORE — Baltimoreans who are black and wealthy - or poor and white - are the ones most likely to be concerned about climate change.
That's according to a new Hopkins study, which found significant racial and economic differences in Baltimoreans' views on climate concerns.
Only 62 percent of white Baltimore-area households who earn more than $110,000 said they think climate change will personally impact them in the next five years.
Meanwhile, more than 90 percent of black households earning more than $110,000 said they're worried about that.
Those statistics are from a broader report called the Baltimore Area Survey that Johns Hopkins University conducts of Baltimore City and County residents.
The report looked at data from the 2023 survey, which questioned 1,352 city and county residents.
JHU noted that "the results challenge widely held perceptions that climate change is a luxury issue for affluent white people."
Associate sociology professor Michael Bader said:
Our impressions are often shaped by the people who have time to turn up to meetings or those with access to media channels. They end up being the loudest voice in the room, so we assume they care the most. But, in our survey, everyone has an equal voice. And our data show that many preconceived notions around who cares about climate change turn out to be wrong.
About 70 percent of respondents also thought climate change would raise costs in the next five years.
And - perhaps less surprisingly - Baltimore-area residents seem more concerned about climate change than the nation and Maryland as a whole, with "about three-quarters of residents expressing some level of concern."
