Politics & Global Warming

The report details a 2011 survey of 1,010 American adults, analyzing how political affiliation and movement membership influence perceptions of climate change. It finds a sharp divide between the Tea Party and other political groups, with Tea Party members significantly more likely to deny global warming, distrust government-led climate policies, and hold strong individualistic values. Conversely, Democrats show the highest levels of concern and support for regulatory climate action.

• There is a significant disparity in the belief that global warming is occurring across political groups: while majorities of Democrats (78%), Independents (71%), and Republicans (53%) believe it is happening, only 34% of Tea Party members agree, and 53% of Tea Party members say it is not happening.
• Perceptions of scientific consensus vary by political identity; 55% of Democrats believe most scientists think global warming is happening, whereas majorities of Republicans (56%) and Tea Party members (69%) believe there is significant disagreement among scientists.
• Support for climate policies is split by the nature of the intervention. All four groups support funding renewable energy research and tax rebates for energy-efficient vehicles or solar panels. However, Tea Party members oppose an international treaty to cut carbon dioxide emissions (55% strongly opposed) and requirements for utilities to produce 20% renewable electricity (39% strongly opposed).
• There is broad cross-party support for certain energy and local infrastructure policies, including the expansion of offshore drilling for oil and natural gas, the construction of bike paths, and increasing public transportation availability.
• Trust in information sources is highly polarized; while scientists are trusted by majorities across all groups (from 88% of Democrats to 51% of Tea Party members), trust in President Obama drops from 82% among Democrats to only 5% among Tea Party members.
• Tea Party members exhibit distinct values and beliefs compared to other groups, including higher rates of being "born-again" or evangelical (46%), stronger individualistic values, and more pronounced anti-government attitudes.

APA

Leiserowitz, A., Maibach, E., Roser-Renouf, C., & Hmielowski, J. D. (2011). Politics & Global Warming. Center for Climate Change Communication. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Tea-Party.pdf

Chicago

Leiserowitz, Anthony, Edward Maibach, Connie Roser-Renouf, and Jay D. Hmielowski. Politics & Global Warming. Center for Climate Change Communication, 2011. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Tea-Party.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Leiserowitz |first1=Anthony |last2=Maibach |first2=Edward |last3=Roser-Renouf |first3=Connie |last4=Hmielowski |first4=Jay D. |title=Politics & Global Warming |publisher=Center for Climate Change Communication |date=2011 |url=https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Tea-Party.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{leiserowitz2011politics, author = {Leiserowitz, Anthony and Maibach, Edward and Roser-Renouf, Connie and Hmielowski, Jay D.}, title = {{Politics \& Global Warming}}, institution = {Center for Climate Change Communication}, year = {2011}, url = {https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Tea-Party.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }