Public Understanding vs. Scientific Consensus

The document highlights a significant discrepancy between the scientific consensus—where 97% of peer-reviewed papers acknowledge human-caused global warming—and the American public, where only 44% believe it is both happening and human-caused. It further notes that only 12% of Americans are aware of the high level of scientific agreement, a misunderstanding that may hinder support for climate action.

• There is a stark contrast between scientific consensus and public perception: while 97% of peer-reviewed papers that state a position agree that global warming is happening and at least partly human-caused, only 44% of Americans believe it is both happening and human-caused.
• A majority of Americans are unaware of the degree of scientific agreement on climate change; only 12% know that 90% or more of scientists have concluded human-caused global warming is occurring, while 14% believe fewer than half of climate scientists have reached that conclusion.
• Public perception of the cause of global warming is split, with 52% of Americans attributing it mostly to human activities and 32% attributing it mostly to natural environmental changes.

APA

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (2014). Public Understanding vs. Scientific Consensus. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/public-understanding-vs-scientific-consensus/

Chicago

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. Public Understanding vs. Scientific Consensus. 2014. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/public-understanding-vs-scientific-consensus/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Yale Program on Climate Change Communication |title=Public Understanding vs. Scientific Consensus |date=3 June 2014 |url=https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/public-understanding-vs-scientific-consensus/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{yaleprogramonclimatechangecommunication2014public, author = {{Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}}, title = {{Public Understanding vs. Scientific Consensus}}, institution = {Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}, year = {2014}, month = jun, url = {https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/public-understanding-vs-scientific-consensus/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }