Who supports climate justice in the U.S.?

The report finds that while a majority of Americans (65%) are unfamiliar with the term 'climate justice', over half (53%) support its goals after receiving a brief description. Support is highest among Black (70%) and Hispanic/Latino (66%) adults, who also show the largest gaps between prior awareness and subsequent support. Additionally, 43% of U.S. adults would be more likely to vote for a candidate supporting climate justice, with the strongest likelihood found among Black (62%), urban-dwelling (53%), and Hispanic/Latino (51%) respondents. The authors conclude that there is a significant opportunity to expand the national support base through targeted education and communication, particularly for marginalized groups who are most affected by climate change.

• General awareness of climate justice in the United States is low, with 65% of Americans stating they have not heard of it and only 34% reporting they have heard or read at least "a little" about the topic.
• After being provided with a description of climate justice, 53% of Americans express support. The highest levels of support are found among Black adults (70%), Hispanic/Latino adults (66%), those with a Bachelor's degree or higher (61%), and those living in urban areas (61%).
• There is a significant disparity between prior knowledge and support for climate justice among specific groups; Black adults showed the largest gap at 58 percentage points (12% awareness vs 70% support), followed by women, Hispanic/Latino adults, and those earning under $50,000 per year, each with a 45 percentage point difference.
• Regarding electoral preferences, 43% of U.S. adults are more likely to vote for a candidate who supports climate justice. This likelihood is most pronounced among Black adults (62%), urban residents (53%), and Hispanic/Latino adults (51%).
• While majorities across all racial and ethnic groups support climate justice-related policies, support is consistently higher among Hispanic/Latino and Black respondents compared to White respondents.

APA

J., C., M., B., M., V., D., L., J., L., S., R., E., M., J., K., J., M., & A., L. (2023). Who supports climate justice in the U.S.? Center for Climate Change Communication. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/all/who-supports-climate-justice-in-the-u-s/

Chicago

J., Carman,, Ballew, M., Verner, M., Lu, D., Low, J., Rosenthal, S., Maibach, E., et al. Who supports climate justice in the U.S.? Center for Climate Change Communication, 2023. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/all/who-supports-climate-justice-in-the-u-s/.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{j2023who, author = {J., Carman, and M., Ballew, and M., Verner, and D., Lu, and J., Low, and S., Rosenthal, and E., Maibach, and J., Kotcher, and J., Marlon, and A., Leiserowitz,}, title = {{Who supports climate justice in the U.S.?}}, institution = {Center for Climate Change Communication}, year = {2023}, month = nov, url = {https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/all/who-supports-climate-justice-in-the-u-s/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }