Global Warming and the U.S. Presidential Election, Spring 2016

The report reveals a deep partisan divide in climate change perceptions. Supporters of Democratic candidates (Sanders, Clinton) and some Republican candidates (Kasich, Trump) generally believe global warming is happening, whereas a majority of Ted Cruz supporters do not. While there is broad support across most candidate groups for renewable energy research and tax rebates for energy-efficient products, significant gaps exist regarding carbon taxes, CO2 regulation, and the importance of climate change as a voting issue.

• Most supporters of the Democratic and Republican candidates believe global warming is occurring, with the exception of Ted Cruz supporters, of whom only 38% believe it is happening.
• There is a sharp divide in perceived causes of global warming: Democratic supporters primarily attribute it to human activities, while Trump and Cruz supporters primarily attribute it to natural environmental changes.
• Awareness of the scientific consensus on human-caused global warming is low across all groups, though Democratic supporters are the most likely to be aware that at least 90% of climate scientists are convinced.
• A majority of Clinton (83%) and Sanders (80%) supporters are worried about global warming, while fewer than half of any Republican candidate's supporters share this concern, with Cruz supporters being the least worried (17%).
• Global warming is considered one of several important issues for 49% of voters, but it is rarely the single most important issue (2%). It ranks significantly higher for Sanders (5th) and Clinton (11th) supporters than for Republican supporters.
• Voters across most candidate groups—excluding Cruz supporters—are more likely to vote for a candidate who strongly supports climate action and less likely to vote for one who strongly opposes it.
• There is broad cross-partisan support for funding renewable energy research (solar and wind) and providing tax rebates for energy-efficient vehicles or solar panels.
• Support for regulating carbon dioxide as a pollutant and implementing a carbon tax is high among Democrats and moderate among some Republicans, but low among Cruz supporters.
• A majority of supporters for Sanders, Clinton, Kasich, and half of Trump supporters favor strict CO2 emission limits on coal-fired power plants, despite potential electricity cost increases.
• There is a strong partisan divide regarding offshore drilling, with significant majorities of Republican candidate supporters favoring its expansion and majorities of Democratic supporters opposing it.

APA

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (2016). Global Warming and the U.S. Presidential Election, Spring 2016. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2016/05/2016_3_CCAM_Global-Warming-U.S.-Presidential-Election.pdf

Chicago

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. Global Warming and the U.S. Presidential Election, Spring 2016. 2016. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2016/05/2016_3_CCAM_Global-Warming-U.S.-Presidential-Election.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Yale Program on Climate Change Communication |title=Global Warming and the U.S. Presidential Election, Spring 2016 |date=2016 |url=https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2016/05/2016_3_CCAM_Global-Warming-U.S.-Presidential-Election.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{yaleprogramonclimatechangecommunication2016global, author = {{Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}}, title = {{Global Warming and the U.S. Presidential Election, Spring 2016}}, institution = {Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}, year = {2016}, url = {https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2016/05/2016_3_CCAM_Global-Warming-U.S.-Presidential-Election.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }