Climate Change in the American Mind

The report finds that while a majority of Americans (72%) believe global warming is happening and 56% attribute it to human causes, there is a significant gap in understanding the strength of the scientific consensus. Public concern is high, with 64% feeling worried and many reporting personal experiences with climate impacts, yet social discussion of the topic remains low, with 67% rarely or never discussing it with family and friends.

• A strong majority of Americans believe global warming is occurring, with a 6 to 1 ratio of those who think it is happening (72%) versus those who do not (12%). Among these, 54% are "very" or "extremely" sure of its occurrence.
• While 56% of Americans recognize that global warming is mostly human-caused and 55% know most scientists agree it is happening, only 20% understand the actual strength of the scientific consensus (that over 90% of climate scientists agree).
• Emotional responses to global warming are varied; 64% of Americans are at least "somewhat worried," and 62% feel "interested." Other common emotions include feeling disgusted or sad (51% each), afraid (46%), angry (44%), and outraged (42%), while 38% feel hopeful.
• Americans perceive global warming as a threat to others more than to themselves. While 72% believe it will harm future generations and plant/animal species, and 69% believe it will harm the world's poor and people in developing countries, only 47% believe they will be personally harmed.
• Social communication about climate change is limited; 67% of Americans rarely or never discuss global warming with family and friends. Additionally, only 40% perceive that their social circle makes a moderate or greater effort to reduce global warming.
• Most Americans reject fatalism regarding climate change, with 61% disagreeing that it is already too late to act. However, the public is split on whether technology can solve the problem without individual lifestyle changes (48% agree vs 52% disagree).
• There is high perceived linkage between global warming and specific environmental problems in the U.S., particularly extreme heat (75%), wildfires (73%), and droughts (72%). 56% of Americans believe extreme weather poses a moderate or high risk to their own community over the next decade.

APA

Leiserowitz, A., Maibach, E., Rosenthal, S., Kotcher, J., Carman, J., Neyens, L., Myers, T., Goldberg, M., Campbell, E., Lacroix, K., & Marlon, J. (2022). Climate Change in the American Mind. Center for Climate Change Communication. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/all/climate-change-in-the-american-mind-beliefs-attitudes-spring-2024-2/

Chicago

Leiserowitz, Anthony, Edward Maibach, Seth Rosenthal, John Kotcher, Jennifer Carman, Liz Neyens, Teresa Myers, et al. Climate Change in the American Mind. Center for Climate Change Communication, 2022. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/all/climate-change-in-the-american-mind-beliefs-attitudes-spring-2024-2/.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{leiserowitz2022climate, author = {Leiserowitz, Anthony and Maibach, Edward and Rosenthal, Seth and Kotcher, John and Carman, Jennifer and Neyens, Liz and Myers, Teresa and Goldberg, Matthew and Campbell, Eryn and Lacroix, Karine and Marlon, Jennifer}, title = {{Climate Change in the American Mind}}, institution = {Center for Climate Change Communication}, year = {2022}, month = jul, url = {https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/all/climate-change-in-the-american-mind-beliefs-attitudes-spring-2024-2/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }