Baltimore-area residents worry about effects of climate change on their lives

For Baltimore, climate change feels personal: Nearly three-quarters of city and county residents worry that climate change will hurt them, with that concern highest among the wealthiest Black households and the poorest white ones, according to a new report from the Johns Hopkins University's 21st Century Cities Initiative.

The findings challenge widely held perceptions that climate change is a luxury issue for affluent white people, the report authors 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," said lead author Michael Bader, an associate professor of sociology at Johns Hopkins and faculty director of the 21st Century Cities Initiative. "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."

The new report explores data from the 2023 Baltimore Area Survey of 1,352 residents of Baltimore City and Baltimore County. The survey, co-designed by community leaders and Johns Hopkins researchers to better understand the experiences of people living in and around Baltimore, included two questions about climate change.

When asked whether they thought climate change would impact them personally in the next five years, more than 90% of the Black households earning more than $110,000 a year said they worried they would be harmed, compared to 62% of the white households in the same income bracket.

When asked whether preparing for climate change would strain their finances or help save money, about 70% of respondents thought it would raise costs for people and businesses in the next five years.

"Climate change is a lose-lose for many Baltimoreans," Bader said. "Either it's going to hurt them personally, or it's going to hurt their wallets."