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

A survey of 938 registered U.S. voters conducted in December 2022 reveals broad support for clean energy research, energy efficiency in low-income communities, and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) after it is described. While 45% of 2022 voters considered global warming an important voting issue, there is a significant gap between the desire for action and actual political engagement. Support for climate-friendly infrastructure is generally higher at the national level than the local level, and a majority of voters believe corporations and government should do more to address global warming.

• Global warming was a significant factor for 45% of registered voters who participated in the 2022 election, though this was heavily skewed toward Democrats; no Republicans identified it as the single most important issue.
• There is strong majority support for several specific climate and energy policies, including renewable energy research (79%), energy efficiency for low-income residential buildings (78%), and tax incentives for non-fossil fuel appliances (76%).
• Registered voters generally support the construction of clean energy infrastructure in the U.S., but support levels often drop when the projects are proposed for their local area, suggesting a 'NIMBY' (not in my backyard) effect.
• While 68% of registered voters support the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) after reading a description, few believe it will achieve its primary goals, such as reducing global warming (34%) or the cost of electricity (18%).
• There is a high demand for increased action from external entities, with 66% of voters stating corporations and industry should do more, and over 50% calling for more action from the U.S. Congress, the Republican Party, and the Democratic Party.
• Actual political engagement regarding global warming is low compared to stated willingness; for example, only 11% donated money to a climate organization in the past year, despite 31% saying they would do so if asked by someone they respect.
• A strong cross-partisan consensus exists regarding education, with 75% of registered voters agreeing that schools should teach children about the causes, consequences, and solutions of global warming.

APA

A., L., E., M., S., R., J., K., J., C., S., L., M., V., M., B., P., A., N., B., T., M., M., G., & J., M. (2023). Climate Change in the American Mind: Politics & Policy, December 2022. Center for Climate Change Communication. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/all/climate-change-in-the-american-mind-politics-policy-december-2022/

Chicago

A., Leiserowitz,, Maibach, E., Rosenthal, S., Kotcher, J., Carman, J., Lee, S., Verner, M., et al. Climate Change in the American Mind: Politics & Policy, December 2022. Center for Climate Change Communication, 2023. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/all/climate-change-in-the-american-mind-politics-policy-december-2022/.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{a2023climate, author = {A., Leiserowitz, and E., Maibach, and S., Rosenthal, and J., Kotcher, and J., Carman, and S., Lee, and M., Verner, and M., Ballew, and P., Ansah, and N., Badullovich, and T., Myers, and M., Goldberg, and J., Marlon,}, title = {{Climate Change in the American Mind: Politics \& Policy, December 2022}}, institution = {Center for Climate Change Communication}, year = {2023}, month = jan, url = {https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/all/climate-change-in-the-american-mind-politics-policy-december-2022/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }