Two-thirds of Americans believe world leaders are morally obligated to act on climate change, and 72% believe they are “personally morally obligated,” according to a poll conducted last month by the American Values Network.

“When climate change is viewed through a moral lens it has broader appeal,” said AVN Executive Director Eric Sapp. “The climate debate can be very intellectual at times, all about economic systems and science we don’t understand. This makes it about us, our neighbours, and about doing the right thing.”

The poll “was conducted in February to measure the impact of moral language, including interventions by Pope Francis, on the climate change debate,” Reuters reports. The findings suggest “that appeals based on ethics could be key to shifting the debate over climate change in the United States.”