5. Who Should Take Action to Address Global Warming?

Jan 30, 2023 | All Categories

Climate Change in the American Mind: Politics & Policy, December 2022


5.1. Two in three registered voters want corporations and industry to do more to address global warming. Most also want more action from citizens and government.

Two in three registered voters say corporations and industry should do either “much more” or “more” to address global warming (66% of registered voters, including 95% of liberal Democrats, 81% of moderate/conservative Democrats, 59% of liberal/moderate Republicans, and 32% of conservative Republicans).

Half or more registered voters, including large majorities of both liberal and moderate/conservative Democrats, say citizens themselves (60%), the Republican Party (60%), the U.S. Congress (58%), their local government officials (54%), their governor (53%), the Democratic Party (53%), the media (51%), and President Biden (50%) should do more to address global warming. About half (48%) say they themselves should do more.

Forty-three percent of liberal/moderate Republicans say their party (the Republican Party) should do more to address global warming, while only 20% of conservative Republicans say so. Large majorities of both liberal Democrats (84%) and moderate/conservative Democrats (68%) say their party (the Democratic Party) should do more.

5.2. Few registered voters think the U.S. government is responding well to global warming.

Few registered voters agree that the U.S. government is responding well to the issue of global warming (12%). This is true across the political spectrum: Only 17% of moderate/conservative Democrats, 16% of liberal Democrats, 7% of liberal/moderate Republicans, and 6% of conservative Republicans agree.


Citation

Leiserowitz, A., Maibach, E., Rosenthal, S., Kotcher, J., Carman, J., Lee, S., Verner, M., Ballew, M., Ansah, P., Badullovich, N., Myers, T., Goldberg, M., & Marlon, J. (2023). Climate Change in the American Mind: Politics & Policy, December 2022. Yale University and George Mason University. New Haven, CT: Yale Program on Climate Change Communication.

Funding Source

The research was funded by the 11th Hour Project, the Energy Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, the Heising-Simons Foundation, and the Grantham Foundation.