Few Americans Very Worried About Global Warming

A 2014 survey of 1,013 U.S. adults found that while 55% of Americans are at least 'somewhat worried' about global warming, only 15% are 'very worried'. The data suggests a gap between the increasing physical evidence of climate impacts and public perception, with many Americans viewing global warming as a distant threat rather than a personal risk.

• Public concern regarding global warming in the U.S. has remained stable over the last three years and is lower than it was in November 2008, despite increasing evidence of climate impacts. As of April 2014, 55% of Americans are at least "somewhat worried" about global warming, but only 15% describe themselves as "very worried".
• There is a strong correlation between the level of worry an individual feels and their perception of personal risk. 78% of those who are "very worried" believe global warming will harm them personally, compared to 51% of those "somewhat worried", 18% of those "not very worried", and 3% of those "not at all worried".
• Americans generally perceive global warming as a threat to future generations rather than to themselves or their immediate circles. While 67% believe future generations will be harmed "a great deal" or "a moderate amount", only 38% believe they personally, 43% their family, and 45% people in their community will be harmed.

APA

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (2014). Few Americans Very Worried About Global Warming. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/few-americans-very-worried-about-global-warming/

Chicago

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. Few Americans Very Worried About Global Warming. 2014. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/few-americans-very-worried-about-global-warming/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Yale Program on Climate Change Communication |title=Few Americans Very Worried About Global Warming |date=4 June 2014 |url=https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/few-americans-very-worried-about-global-warming/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{yaleprogramonclimatechangecommunication2014few, author = {{Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}}, title = {{Few Americans Very Worried About Global Warming}}, institution = {Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}, year = {2014}, month = jun, url = {https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/few-americans-very-worried-about-global-warming/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }