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Ethiopia Research Briefing

Most Ethiopians, regardless of religion, believe God alone has the power to change the weather.

Ethiopia research briefingThat is one of the major insights of the Ethiopia Research Briefing. Most of the people our researchers spoke to did not know about climate change. But they did know that the seasons are becoming unpredictable and temperatures are rising. You can read the Research Briefing in full here.

Studies of climate change that were used in this report show that farmers and pastoralists in Ethiopia are suffering the most. Drought has already devastated livestock in many rural communities and people are now competing for dwindling resources.

The research further concludes that although people don't understand the term 'climate change', they do recognise 'global warming'. However this is often misunderstood as an increase in temperature caused by human activities that produce visible pollution, such as burning firewood.

Very few people think humans are responsible for the changing weather. This could be a major obstacle to communicating about climate change.
 
There is an urgent need to engage the population in responding to climate change.
 
It is vital to develop accessible information that explains why the weather is changing, while remaining relevant to the population's different religious beliefs.