Who is most likely to talk about climate change?

The analysis finds that a majority of Americans rarely or never discuss global warming, with the highest rates of conversation occurring among Democrats, educated urban residents, Gen Z and Millennials, and Hispanic/Latino Americans. The study highlights a strong correlation between talking about climate change and being in the 'Alarmed' category of the Global Warming’s Six Americas framework, as well as the influence of supportive social norms and frequent exposure to climate discussions in social circles and the media.

• Most Americans do not frequently discuss global warming; 63% of the population reports that they either "rarely" or "never" talk about the issue with family and friends, while only 37% do so "occasionally" or "often".
• Specific demographic groups are more likely to engage in climate conversations, with over 40% of Democrats, people with a Bachelor’s degree or higher, urban residents, Gen Z and Millennials, and Hispanic/Latino Americans discussing the topic. Conversely, Republicans, rural residents, those with a high school education or less, and those uninterested in politics are the least likely, with less than 30% discussing it. Liberal Democrats (68%) and conservative Republicans (11%) represent the opposite ends of this spectrum.
• There is a strong link between a person's level of concern and their likelihood to talk about the issue. 83% of those categorized as 'Alarmed' in the Global Warming’s Six Americas framework discuss global warming, compared to much lower rates for the Cautious (14%), Disengaged (9%), Doubtful (3%), and Dismissive (10%) groups.
• Social norms and external triggers significantly increase the frequency of climate discussions. 66% of people who perceive strong descriptive norms and 61% of those who perceive strong injunctive norms discuss global warming, compared to only 20% for those with weak perceptions of either. Additionally, 76% of people who hear others talk about global warming at least once a month discuss it themselves, and 45% of those who hear about it in the media at least once a month do so, compared to 22% and 27% respectively for those with lower exposure.

APA

Ballew, M., Goldberg, M., Verner, M., Rosenthal, S., Maibach, E., Kotcher, J., & Leiserowitz, A. (2023). Who is most likely to talk about climate change? Center for Climate Change Communication. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/all/who-is-most-likely-to-talk-about-climate-change__trashed/

Chicago

Ballew, M., M. Goldberg, M. Verner, S. Rosenthal, E. Maibach, J. Kotcher, and A. Leiserowitz. Who is most likely to talk about climate change? Center for Climate Change Communication, 2023. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/all/who-is-most-likely-to-talk-about-climate-change__trashed/.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{ballew2023who, author = {Ballew, M. and Goldberg, M. and Verner, M. and Rosenthal, S. and Maibach, E. and Kotcher, J. and Leiserowitz, A.}, title = {{Who is most likely to talk about climate change?}}, institution = {Center for Climate Change Communication}, year = {2023}, month = may, url = {https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/all/who-is-most-likely-to-talk-about-climate-change__trashed/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }