Climate Change in the American Mind: Beliefs & Attitudes, Fall 2023

A survey of 1,033 American adults in October 2023 shows that 72% believe global warming is happening, with 58% attributing it primarily to human causes. While 65% of respondents express worry about global warming and many identify specific local risks like power outages and extreme heat, a majority (65%) rarely or never discuss the topic with family and friends. Approximately 10% of respondents report symptoms of anxiety or depression linked to global warming. Despite these concerns, 60% of Americans disagree that it is too late to act, and 63% feel a personal responsibility to help reduce global warming.

• A significant majority of Americans believe global warming is occurring and is primarily caused by humans, with 72% stating it is happening and 58% understanding it is "mostly human-caused."
• Many Americans perceive global warming as a current threat, with 46% believing people in the U.S. are being harmed "right now" and 43% reporting they have personally experienced its effects.
• Americans identify a wide range of environmental problems affected by global warming in the U.S., most notably extreme heat (75%), droughts (71%), and wildfires (70%).
• Local concerns are high regarding infrastructure and environmental risks, with 74% of Americans worried their local area might be harmed by electricity power outages and 73% by air pollution.
• Global warming is linked to psychological distress in a small portion of the population, with about 10% of Americans reporting symptoms of anxiety or depression due to the issue over the previous two weeks.
• There is a gap between personal concern and social discourse; while 65% are at least "somewhat worried," 65% of Americans "rarely" or "never" discuss global warming with family and friends.
• Americans express a desire for solutions and a sense of agency, with 63% feeling a personal responsibility to help and 60% disagreeing that it is "already too late to do anything."

APA

A., L., E., M., S., R., J., K., E., G., J., C., M., B., M., V., J., M., S., L., T., M., M., G., N., B., & K., T. (2024). Climate Change in the American Mind: Beliefs & Attitudes, Fall 2023. Center for Climate Change Communication. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/all/climate-change-in-the-american-mind-beliefs-attitudes-fall-2023/

Chicago

A., Leiserowitz,, Maibach, E., Rosenthal, S., Kotcher, J., Goddard, E., Carman, J., Ballew, M., et al. Climate Change in the American Mind: Beliefs & Attitudes, Fall 2023. Center for Climate Change Communication, 2024. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/all/climate-change-in-the-american-mind-beliefs-attitudes-fall-2023/.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{a2024climate, author = {A., Leiserowitz, and E., Maibach, and S., Rosenthal, and J., Kotcher, and E., Goddard, and J., Carman, and M., Ballew, and M., Verner, and J., Marlon, and S., Lee, and T., Myers, and M., Goldberg, and N., Badullovich, and K., Thier,}, title = {{Climate Change in the American Mind: Beliefs \& Attitudes, Fall 2023}}, institution = {Center for Climate Change Communication}, year = {2024}, month = jan, url = {https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/all/climate-change-in-the-american-mind-beliefs-attitudes-fall-2023/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }