Climate Change in the American Mind: Public Support for Climate & Energy Policies in November 2011

The report presents survey data from 1,000 American adults on their priorities and policy preferences regarding global warming and clean energy. It finds that while a majority of Americans support renewable energy research and tax rebates for energy-efficient vehicles, there is significant political polarization regarding the priority of global warming and the implementation of carbon taxes. The data also indicates a general public belief that environmental protection can improve economic growth.

• In November 2011, 63% of respondents believed that protecting the environment is more important than economic growth, even if it reduces that growth, while 37% prioritized economic growth even if it leads to environmental problems.
• Public support for clean energy is higher than for global warming as a priority; 65% of respondents viewed developing clean energy as a 'high' or 'very high' priority for the president and Congress, compared to 37% who felt the same about global warming.
• There is strong public support for funding renewable energy research (78% support) and providing tax rebates for energy-efficient vehicles or solar panels (78% support).
• A majority of Americans (60%) believe the United States should reduce its greenhouse gas emissions regardless of what other countries do.
• Support for a carbon tax varies based on how the revenue is used; the highest support (60% combined strongly and somewhat support) occurs when revenues are returned to taxpayers via reduced federal income taxes.
• Public opinion on global warming priority is highly polarized by political party: 47% of Democrats viewed it as a 'high' or 'very high' priority, whereas 56% of Republicans viewed it as a 'low' priority.
• A majority of respondents (54%) believe that protecting the environment improves economic growth and provides new jobs.
• The public generally believes that corporations and industry should be doing 'more' or 'much more' to address global warming, with 67% of respondents holding this view.

APA

Leiserowitz, A., Maibach, E., Roser-Renouf, C., Smith, N., & Hmielowski, J. D. (2011). Climate Change in the American Mind: Public Support for Climate & Energy Policies in November 2011. Center for Climate Change Communication. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/November-2011-Americans-Public-Support-for-Climate-and-Energy-Policies.pdf

Chicago

Leiserowitz, Anthony, Edward Maibach, Connie Roser-Renouf, Nicholas Smith, and Jay D. Hmielowski. Climate Change in the American Mind: Public Support for Climate & Energy Policies in November 2011. Center for Climate Change Communication, 2011. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/November-2011-Americans-Public-Support-for-Climate-and-Energy-Policies.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{leiserowitz2011climate, author = {Leiserowitz, Anthony and Maibach, Edward and Roser-Renouf, Connie and Smith, Nicholas and Hmielowski, Jay D.}, title = {{Climate Change in the American Mind: Public Support for Climate \& Energy Policies in November 2011}}, institution = {Center for Climate Change Communication}, year = {2011}, url = {https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/November-2011-Americans-Public-Support-for-Climate-and-Energy-Policies.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }