Climate Change in the American Mind Political Briefing

A September 2012 survey of 1,061 American adults indicates that undecided likely voters share more similarities with likely Obama voters than likely Romney voters regarding climate change. While 80% of undecideds believe global warming is happening and 65% attribute it to human causes, only 45% of likely Romney voters believe it is occurring and 27% see it as human-caused. A majority of undecideds (61%) consider global warming one of several important factors in their voting decision. There is broad agreement across all groups that the U.S. should increase renewable energy use, though views on reducing fossil fuels diverge. Approximately 40% of undecideds and 36% of likely Romney voters report they could "easily change their mind" about global warming.

• Undecided likely voters are more aligned with likely Obama voters than likely Romney voters on climate change beliefs. 80% of undecideds believe global warming is happening, compared to 86% of likely Obama voters and 45% of likely Romney voters. Regarding the cause, 65% of both undecideds and likely Obama voters believe global warming is "mostly human caused," whereas only 27% of likely Romney voters hold this view.
• There is significant divergence in how different voter groups perceive scientific consensus on global warming. While 66% of likely Obama voters believe most scientists think global warming is happening, only 22% of likely Romney voters agree. A majority of likely Romney voters (57%) believe "there is a lot of disagreement among scientists" on the issue, while undecideds are split, with 46% believing scientists agree and 42% believing there is significant disagreement.
• Global warming is a significant factor for a majority of undecided and likely Obama voters when determining their vote for President, with 61% of undecideds and 75% of likely Obama voters stating it will be one of several important issues. Consequently, 64% of undecideds and 61% of likely Obama voters believe the President should be "doing more" about global warming, while 47% of likely Romney voters believe the President should be doing less.
• While all likely voter groups agree that the U.S. should increase the use of renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and geothermal, they disagree on the reduction of fossil fuels. 55% of undecideds and 65% of likely Obama voters believe the U.S. should use fewer fossil fuels (coal, oil, and gas), but only 38% of likely Romney voters agree.
• A substantial portion of the electorate remains open to changing their views on global warming, with 40% of undecideds and 36% of likely Romney voters stating they could "easily change their mind."

APA

Leiserowitz, A., Feinberg, G., Maibach, E., & Roser-Renouf, C. (2012). Climate Change in the American Mind Political Briefing. Center for Climate Change Communication. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/September-2012-The-Potential-Impact-of-Global-Warming-on-the-2012-Presidential-Election.pdf

Chicago

Leiserowitz, Anthony, Geoff Feinberg, Edward Maibach, and Connie Roser-Renouf. Climate Change in the American Mind Political Briefing. Center for Climate Change Communication, 2012. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/September-2012-The-Potential-Impact-of-Global-Warming-on-the-2012-Presidential-Election.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{leiserowitz2012climate, author = {Leiserowitz, Anthony and Feinberg, Geoff and Maibach, Edward and Roser-Renouf, Connie}, title = {{Climate Change in the American Mind Political Briefing}}, institution = {Center for Climate Change Communication}, year = {2012}, month = sep, url = {https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/September-2012-The-Potential-Impact-of-Global-Warming-on-the-2012-Presidential-Election.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }