Climate Change in the American Mind: Climate Justice, Spring 2023

The report finds that while only 34% of Americans are familiar with the term 'climate justice', 53% support its goals after reading a description. There is significant political polarization regarding the concept, but broad cross-partisan support for specific policies such as creating green spaces in low-income communities (81%) and training programs for renewable energy jobs (75%).

• Public awareness of the term 'climate justice' is low, with 65% of Americans stating they have heard 'nothing at all' about it, while 34% have heard or read at least 'a little'.
• After being provided with a brief description of climate justice, 53% of Americans express support for its goals, though this is heavily split by political affiliation: 91% of liberal Democrats support the goals compared to 19% of conservative Republicans.
• Americans perceive disproportionate harm from global warming differently; 48% believe it harms lower-income people more than wealthier people, while 32% believe it harms people of color more than white people, and 13% believe it harms women more than men.
• There is strong consensus among registered voters for specific climate justice policies, including creating parks and green spaces in low-income communities and communities of color (81%), providing federal funding for energy efficiency in low-income residential buildings (76%), and establishing national training programs for renewable energy jobs for both low-income communities (75%) and fossil fuel industry workers (75%).
• A minority of Americans link climate vulnerability to systemic racism, with 34% agreeing that a history of racist policies makes people of color more likely than white people to be harmed by global warming.
• Political engagement with climate justice varies; 44% of registered voters are more likely to vote for a candidate who supports climate justice, and 25% are willing to join or are already participating in campaigns to advance climate justice.

APA

Carman, J., Ballew, M., Lu, D., Leiserowitz, A., Maibach, E., Rosenthal, S., Kotcher, J., Goddard, E., Low, L., Marlon, J., Verner, M., Lee, S., Myers, T., Goldberg, M., Badullovich, N., Mason, T., Aguilar, A., Ongelungel, S. M., Sahlin, K., ... Torres, G. (2023). Climate Change in the American Mind: Climate Justice, Spring 2023. Center for Climate Change Communication. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/all/climate-change-in-the-american-mind-climate-justice-spring-2023/

Chicago

Carman, J., M. Ballew, D. Lu, A. Leiserowitz, E. Maibach, S. Rosenthal, J. Kotcher, et al. Climate Change in the American Mind: Climate Justice, Spring 2023. Center for Climate Change Communication, 2023. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/all/climate-change-in-the-american-mind-climate-justice-spring-2023/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Carman |first1=J. |last2=Ballew |first2=M. |last3=Lu |first3=D. |last4=Leiserowitz |first4=A. |last5=Maibach |first5=E. |last6=Rosenthal |first6=S. |last7=Kotcher |first7=J. |last8=Goddard |first8=E. |last9=Low |first9=L. |display-authors=etal |title=Climate Change in the American Mind: Climate Justice, Spring 2023 |publisher=Center for Climate Change Communication |date=12 September 2023 |url=https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/all/climate-change-in-the-american-mind-climate-justice-spring-2023/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{carman2023climate, author = {Carman, J. and Ballew, M. and Lu, D. and Leiserowitz, A. and Maibach, E. and Rosenthal, S. and Kotcher, J. and Goddard, E. and Low, L. and Marlon, J. and Verner, M. and Lee, S. and Myers, T. and Goldberg, M. and Badullovich, N. and Mason, T. and Aguilar, A. and Ongelungel, S. M. and Sahlin, K. and Sanchez, C. and Burga, I. and Magaña, M. and Amer, S. and Williams, R. T. and Burgess, M. and McRae, G. and Fekede, M. and Salgado, M. and Larson, A. and Barendregt-Ludwig, K. and Gelobter, M. and Torres, G.}, title = {{Climate Change in the American Mind: Climate Justice, Spring 2023}}, institution = {Center for Climate Change Communication}, year = {2023}, month = sep, url = {https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/all/climate-change-in-the-american-mind-climate-justice-spring-2023/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }