Climate Change in the American Mind: March 2015

Executive Summary

Beliefs & Attitudes

• About two in three (63%) Americans think global warming is happening. By contrast, only about one in five Americans (18%) thinks global warming is not happening.
• One in three Americans is either “extremely” or “very” sure global warming is happening (37%).
  One in ten Americans is “extremely” or “very sure” global warming is not happening (9%).
• About half of Americans (52%) think that global warming, if it is happening, is mostly human
  caused. Three in ten (32%) say they believe it is due mostly to natural changes in the
  environment.
• Only about one in ten Americans understands that over 90% percent of climate scientists think
  human-caused global warming is happening.
• About half of Americans (52%) say they are at least “somewhat worried” about global warming,
  but only 11% say they are “very worried” about it.
• Only about one in three Americans (32%) thinks people in the U.S. are being harmed “right
  now” by global warming.

Communication

• Most Americans (74%) say they only “rarely” or “never” discuss global warming with family and
  friends, a number that has grown substantially since 2008 (60%).
• Only four in ten Americans (40%) say they hear about global warming in the media at least once
  a month (21%) or once a week (19%). Only 16% say they hear people they know talk about global
  warming at least once a month. One in four (25%) say they never hear people they know talk
  about global warming.
• Two-thirds of Americans are at least “a little interested” in hearing about global warming,
  whether in the media, in conversation, or somewhere else.

Policy Support

• Americans see benefits from world action to address global warming. Majorities think that such
  action will help the natural environment (63%) and future generations of people (62%) “a lot” or
  “a moderate amount.”
• Two in three Americans (64%) think developing clean sources of energy should be a very high or
  high priority for the president and Congress. Fewer (12%) say it should be a low priority.
• Nearly half (45%) think global warming should be a very high or high priority for the president
  and Congress. About one in four (24%), however, say that global warming should be a low
  priority.
• About two in three Americans say corporations and industry (68%) and citizens themselves
  (64%) should be doing “much more” or “more” to address global warming. Half or more also believe federal, state, and local government should be doing more, including the U.S. Congress (59%), their member of Congress (57%), their local government officials (55%), their governor (55%), and President Obama (52%).
• Solid majorities of Americans “strongly” or “somewhat” support the following policies:
  o Increased funding for improvements to local roads, bridges, and buildings to make them
  more resistant to extreme weather (81%)
  o Providing tax rebates to people who purchase energy-efficient vehicles or solar panels (80%)
  o Funding more research into renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power (79%)
  o Regulating carbon dioxide as a pollutant (75%)
  o Requiring electric utilities to produce at least 20% of their electricity from wind, solar, or
  other renewable energy sources, even if it costs the average household an extra $100 a year
  (66%)
• Seven in ten Americans (70%) support setting strict carbon dioxide emission limits on existing
  coal-fired plants to reduce global warming and improve public health, even though the cost of
  electricity would likely increase.
• About half of Americans (51%) say it is at least moderately important that the next congressional
  candidate they vote for share their views on global warming. About three in ten (31%) say it is
  slightly or not at all important.
• Among Americans who think global warming is happening, a majority (63%) say that it
  is at least moderately important that the next congressional candidate they vote for share
  their views on global warming. By contrast, fewer Americans who think global warming
  is not happening (38%) say it is at least moderately important that the next
  congressional candidate they vote for share their views on global warming.
• About one in four Americans (26%) are currently part of – or would “definitely” or “probably” be
  willing to join – a campaign to convince elected officials to take action to reduce global warming.

Values & Trust

• Majorities of Americans say global warming is a major environmental (68%), scientific (60%),
  or agricultural issue (55%). Nearly half consider it a major economic (46%) or health issue
  (44%). Few currently consider global warming to be a major national security (16%), poverty
  (16%), social justice (15%), spiritual (7%), or religious issue (6%).
• Americans are nine times more likely to lean toward the view that it is people’s responsibility to
  care for the Earth and its resources (62%) than toward the belief that it is our right to use the
  Earth and its resources for our own benefit (7%).
• Half or more of Americans “strongly” or “somewhat” trust the following for global warming
  information: Climate scientists (70%), family and friends (67%), other kinds of scientists (i.e.,
  not climate scientists) (64%), television weather reporters (60%), their primary care doctor
  (57%), and Pope Francis (50%).
• Among political leaders asked about, President Obama is the most trusted, though by fewer than half of Americans (42%), followed by Hillary Clinton (39%), Jeb Bush (24%), and John Boehner (16%).

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This report is based on findings from a nationally representative survey – Climate Change in the
American Mind – conducted by the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication. Interview dates: February 27 – March 10, 2015. Interviews: 1,263 Adults (18+). Average margin of error: +/- 3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. The research was funded by the 11th Hour Project, the Energy Foundation, the Grantham Foundation, and the V.K. Rasmussen Foundation.

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Principal Investigators:

Anthony Leiserowitz, PhD
Yale Project on Climate Change Communication
School of Forestry & Environmental Studies
Yale University
(203) 432-4865
[email protected]

Edward Maibach, MPH, PhD
Center for Climate Change Communication
Department of Communication
George Mason University
(703) 993-1587
[email protected]

Connie Roser-Renouf, PhD
Center for Climate Change Communication
George Mason University
[email protected]

Geoff Feinberg
Yale Project on Climate Change Communication
School of Forestry & Environmental Studies
Yale University
(203) 432-7438
[email protected]

Seth Rosenthal, PhD
Yale Project on Climate Change Communication
School of Forestry & Environmental Studies
Yale University
[email protected]

Cite as: Leiserowitz, A., Maibach, E., Roser-Renouf, C., Feinberg, G., & Rosenthal, S. (2015). Climate
change in the American mind: March, 2015. Yale University and George Mason University. New
Haven, CT: Yale Project on Climate Change Communication.