Climate Change in the American Mind: Politics & Policy, Fall 2024

The report finds broad support among U.S. registered voters for various climate policies, including methane limits, carbon dioxide regulation, and renewable energy expansion, though support levels vary significantly by political affiliation. While a majority support the Paris Climate Agreement and the Inflation Reduction Act (after reading a description), actual political advocacy and collective efficacy remain low.

• A majority of registered voters support several specific domestic climate policies: 74% support strict limits on methane emissions from oil and gas production, 73% support regulating carbon dioxide as a pollutant, and 67% support a carbon tax on fossil fuel companies if the revenue is used to reduce other taxes by an equal amount.
• There is strong cross-partisan support for climate justice policies, with 77% of registered voters supporting federal funding for energy efficiency in low-income communities and 75% supporting a national program to retrain fossil fuel workers for the renewable energy industry.
• While 60% of registered voters have heard at least 'a little' about the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA), only 36% have heard 'a lot' or 'some' about it; however, 70% support the IRA after reading a brief description.
• International climate action sees mixed support: 73% of registered voters support U.S. participation in the Paris Climate Agreement, and majorities support providing aid to developing countries for mitigation (61%) and adaptation (58%), but only 46% support increasing tariffs on Chinese solar panels and electric vehicles if it raises costs for U.S. consumers.
• Voters are divided on the economic impact of clean energy: 42% believe clean energy policies will improve economic growth and create jobs, while 35% believe they will reduce growth and cost jobs. A majority (55%) believe increasing clean energy production will create more new jobs than increasing fossil fuel production.
• Most registered voters favor a transition in energy sources, with 71% stating the U.S. should use more renewable energy and 61% stating it should use fewer fossil fuels than it does today.
• Direct political advocacy is low, with only 8% of registered voters having contacted government officials in the past year to urge action on global warming. Additionally, collective efficacy has declined, with 38% confident that people like them can affect federal government action and 36% confident they can affect corporations (both 10 percentage point decreases since Spring 2024).

APA

Leiserowitz, A., Maibach, E., Rosenthal, S., Kotcher, J., Goddard, E., Carman, J., Myers, T., Verner, M., Marlon, J., Goldberg, M., Ettinger, J., Fine, J., & Thier, K. (2025). Climate Change in the American Mind: Politics & Policy, Fall 2024. Center for Climate Change Communication. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/all/climate-change-in-the-american-mind-politics-policy-fall-2024/

Chicago

Leiserowitz, A., E. Maibach, S. Rosenthal, J. Kotcher, E. Goddard, J. Carman, T. Myers, et al. Climate Change in the American Mind: Politics & Policy, Fall 2024. Center for Climate Change Communication, 2025. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/all/climate-change-in-the-american-mind-politics-policy-fall-2024/.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{leiserowitz2025climate, author = {Leiserowitz, A. and Maibach, E. and Rosenthal, S. and Kotcher, J. and Goddard, E. and Carman, J. and Myers, T. and Verner, M. and Marlon, J. and Goldberg, M. and Ettinger, J. and Fine, J. and Thier, K.}, title = {{Climate Change in the American Mind: Politics \& Policy, Fall 2024}}, institution = {Center for Climate Change Communication}, year = {2025}, month = jan, url = {https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/all/climate-change-in-the-american-mind-politics-policy-fall-2024/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }