For decades scientists have been looking for ways to explain global warming and climate change to the public. NASA, the NOAA, the EPA, environmental groups and Al Gore have written volumes on the subject and created charts graphs and infographics.

These efforts have been less than spectacularly successful. In a survey released in January 2015, 87 percent of scientists said that they believed that climate change was due to human activity compared with only 50 percent of the public.

A new survey, however, suggests that moral and ethical arguments may work where scientific ones did not. In a Rueters/OPSOS survey a majority of respondents said that they considered combating climate change a moral issue and that they personally, as well as government leaders, are obligated to reduce carbon emissions.

The poll, conducted in February, asked 2,827 Americans about climate change using questions focused on morality, including comments by Pope Francis, rather than science.

Two-thirds (66 percent) of respondents said that world leaders had an obligation to take action on Co2 emissions and 72 percent said that individuals were “personally morally obligated” to do what they could to reduce emissions.

“When climate change is viewed through a moral lens it has broader appeal. 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 neighbors and about doing the right thing.” said Eric Sapp, executive director of the American Values Network to Reuters.

The American Values Network is a “progressive Christian” lobbying group based out of Washington, D.C.

Pope Francis has vowed to make combatting climate change a centerpiece of his papacy, which should have a significant impact on the world’s 1.2 billion Roman Catholics and will make it easier for leaders in predominantly Catholic countries and regions to take a more active role in combating greenhouse gasses.

Some feel that the Pope Francis’ message also has the power to resonate beyond the Catholic Faithful.

“The moral imperative is the way to reach out to conservatives.” said Rev. Mitch Hescox, president of the Evangelic Environmental Network, a Christian environmental group. Hescock added that making climate change an issue of values was the only way to bring Republicans on board.

At a conference last year in Peru, Pope Francis criticized leaders for a lack of courage when it comes to tackling climate change. Since that time, Francis has issued an encyclical setting church doctrine on climate issues and has redoubled his efforts to rally the faithful to the cause.

Since the December 2014 conference in Peru, a wave of new scientific data has been added to the moral arguments. In February, NASA launched a new climate changed monitoring satellite. NASA and the NOAA have also stated that 2014 was the warmest year on record and that 13 of the 14 warmest years on record have occurred since 2000.

New data also indicates that the global warming “hiatus” is coming to an end and that ocean acidification, another byproduct of Co2 emissions, is on the rise and may threaten global fisheries.

In December, world leaders will meet again in Paris to follow up on the 2014 conference in Peru and see if the combination of moral and scientific arguments is enough to get a workable agreement.