Race and Climate Change

The report finds that Hispanics/Latinos and African Americans in the U.S. are more likely to be 'Alarmed' or 'Concerned' about global warming and more willing to engage in climate activism than Whites. While a majority of Hispanics/Latinos view global warming as 'very important' to their 2020 vote, it ranks lower in priority for African Americans. The analysis suggests these differences are partly driven by higher exposure to environmental hazards and differences in political party identification.

• Hispanics/Latinos and African Americans exhibit higher levels of concern regarding global warming compared to Whites. Specifically, 69% of Hispanics/Latinos and 57% of African Americans are categorized as 'Alarmed' or 'Concerned', whereas only 49% of Whites fall into these categories. Conversely, Whites are more likely to be 'Doubtful' or 'Dismissive' (27%) than African Americans (12%) or Hispanics/Latinos (11%).
• People of color report a higher willingness to participate in climate activism to influence elected officials. Approximately 37% of Hispanics/Latinos and 36% of African Americans stated they would 'definitely' or 'probably' join such a campaign, compared to 22% of Whites.
• Global warming's importance as a voting issue for the 2020 Presidential Election varies by racial/ethnic group. For registered voters, 57% of Hispanics/Latinos rank it as 'very important' (6th overall), and 53% of African Americans rank it as 'very important' (though it is 16th in their priority list), while 35% of Whites rank it as 'very important' (17th overall).
• Differences in climate concern are linked to both environmental vulnerability and political affiliation. People of color may be more concerned due to higher exposure to environmental hazards, such as air pollution. Furthermore, when controlling for party identification, the gap in concern between African Americans and Whites disappears, although Hispanics/Latinos remain more Alarmed or Concerned than Whites.

APA

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (2020). Race and Climate Change. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/race-and-climate-change/

Chicago

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. Race and Climate Change. 2020. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/race-and-climate-change/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Yale Program on Climate Change Communication |title=Race and Climate Change |date=15 April 2020 |url=https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/race-and-climate-change/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{yaleprogramonclimatechangecommunication2020race, author = {{Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}}, title = {{Race and Climate Change}}, institution = {Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}, year = {2020}, month = apr, url = {https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/race-and-climate-change/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }