Six Audiences Around the World

The report identifies six distinct climate audiences—Alarmed, Concerned, Cautious, Disengaged, Doubtful, and Dismissive—across a global survey of 139,136 Facebook users. It finds that the 'Alarmed' group is the largest in approximately 77% of the surveyed areas, with the highest concentrations in Puerto Rico and other Latin American countries. Conversely, the 'Doubtful' and 'Dismissive' groups are most prevalent in the Netherlands, Norway, and Libya. The analysis highlights a correlation between lower per-capita emissions and income and higher levels of climate alarm, while noting that the United States has a lower proportion of 'Alarmed' respondents compared to other top carbon-emitting nations.

• The 'Alarmed' audience—those who believe climate change is an urgent, human-caused threat and support climate policies—is the largest group in 87 of the 110 surveyed areas. Puerto Rico has the highest global percentage of Alarmed respondents at 70%, followed by El Salvador (67%), Costa Rica (65%), Chile (64%), and Panama (64%).
• The 'Doubtful' and 'Dismissive' audiences—those who deny climate change is happening or a threat—are most concentrated in the Netherlands (30%), Norway (27%), and Libya (25%).
• Among the 15 nations with the largest annual shares of global carbon emissions (excluding China, Russia, and Iran), the United States has one of the lowest proportions of 'Alarmed' respondents at 32%, ranking fourth-smallest behind Australia (28%), Germany (26%), and Indonesia (25%). Mexico (62%), India (58%), and Brazil (57%) have the highest proportions of Alarmed respondents among top emitters.
• There is a distinct relationship between economic/emission levels and climate attitudes: respondents in areas with low per-capita emissions and income are more likely to be Alarmed (45%) than those in high per-capita emissions and income areas (33%). Conversely, those in high per-capita emissions and income areas are more likely to be Doubtful or Dismissive (15%) compared to those in low-income/emissions areas (8%).

APA

Huitzil (2024). Six Audiences Around the World. Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/six-audiences-around-the-world/

Chicago

Huitzil. Six Audiences Around the World. Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, 2024. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/six-audiences-around-the-world/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Huitzil |title=Six Audiences Around the World |publisher=Yale Program on Climate Change Communication |date=23 July 2024 |url=https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/six-audiences-around-the-world/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{huitzil2024six, author = {Huitzil}, title = {{Six Audiences Around the World}}, institution = {Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}, year = {2024}, month = jul, url = {https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/six-audiences-around-the-world/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }