Our latest national survey finds Americans who think global warming is happening outnumber those who think it is not by a ratio of more than 5 to 1 (72% versus 13%). Those who are “very” or “extremely” sure global warming is happening outnumber those who are “very” or “extremely” sure it is not by more than 8 to 1 (50% versus 6%). The report includes many other interesting findings, including how often Americans hear and talk about global warming.
This survey was fielded from December 3 – 16, 2020, after the results of the 2020 U.S. presidential election were
known, but before control of the U.S. Senate was determined.
Executive Summary
- Americans who think global warming is happening outnumber those who think it is not happening by a ratio of more than 5 to 1 (72% versus 13%). Those who are “very” or “extremely” sure global warming is happening outnumber those who are “very” or “extremely” sure it is not by more than 8 to 1 (50% versus 6%).
- More than half of Americans (58%) understand that global warming is mostly human-caused. About three in ten (29%) think global warming is due mostly to natural changes in the environment.
- More than half of Americans (58%) understand that most scientists think global warming is happening. However, only one in five (20%) understand how strong the level of consensus among scientists is (i.e., that more than 90% of climate scientists think human-caused global warming is happening).
- Two in three Americans (66%) say they are at least “somewhat worried” about global warming. One in four (27%) are “very worried.”
- About four in ten Americans say they feel at least moderately “hopeful” (43%), “disgusted” (42%), or “helpless” (41%) about global warming.
- More than four in ten Americans think people in the United States are being harmed by global warming “right now” (47%) and about four in ten say they have personally experienced the effects of global warming (42%).
- More than four in ten Americans (43%) think they will be harmed by global warming, and nearly half think their family (49%) will be harmed. Half or more Americans think global warming will harm people in their community (52%), people in the U.S. (62%), the world’s poor (66%), people in developing countries (67%), future generations of people (72%), and plant and animal species (73%).
- About six in ten Americans (62%) say they “rarely” or “never” discuss global warming with family and friends, while 38% say they do so “occasionally” or “often.”
- About half of Americans (51%) say they hear about global warming in the media at least once a month. Fewer (21%) say they hear people they know talk about global warming at least once a month.
- Two in three Americans (66%) say the issue of global warming is either “extremely,” “very,” or “somewhat” important to them personally, while about one in three (34%) say it is either “not too” or “not at all” personally important.
- Fewer than half of Americans think their friends and family expect them to take action on global warming. Forty-five percent think it is at least “moderately” important to their family and friends that they take action (an injunctive norm), and 36% say their family and friends make at least “a moderate amount of effort” to reduce global warming (a descriptive norm).
- About two in three Americans (65%) feel a personal sense of responsibility to help reduce global warming.
- Few Americans (14%) agree with the statement that it is too late to do anything about global warming, while about two in three (68%) disagree that it is too late.
- Majorities of Americans think global warming is an environmental issue (80%) or a scientific issue (73%). More than half think global warming is an agricultural (68%), severe weather (66%), economic (66%), health (62%), political (61%), or humanitarian (58%) issue.
- About two in three Americans either “strongly” (33%) or “somewhat” (32%) agree that wildfires have increased around the world as a result of global warming.
- A majority of Americans are worried about harm from environmental hazards in their local area including water and air pollution (both 73%), extreme heat (65%), droughts (64%), agricultural pests and diseases (64%), water shortages (54%), tornados (53%), and flooding (52%).
- About two in three Americans (63%) think global warming is affecting weather in the United States; one in three think it is being affected “a lot” (35%).
This report is based on findings from a nationally representative survey – Climate Change in the American Mind – conducted by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (climatecommunication.yale.edu) and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication (climatechangecommunication.org). Interview dates: December 3 – 16, 2020. Interviews: 1,036 Adults (18+). Average margin of error +/- 3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
Principal Investigators:
Anthony Leiserowitz, PhD
Yale Program on Climate Change Communication
[email protected]
Edward Maibach, MPH, PhD
George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication
[email protected]
Seth Rosenthal, PhD
Yale Program on Climate Change Communication
[email protected]
John Kotcher, PhD
George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication
[email protected]
Cite as:
Leiserowitz, A., Maibach, E., Rosenthal, S., Kotcher, Carman, J., Wang, X., Goldberg, M., Lacroix, K., & Marlon, J. (2021). Climate Change in the American Mind: December 2020. Yale University and George Mason University. New Haven, CT: Yale Program on Climate Change Communication.