What do Americans want to know about climate change?

The data tables detail the information needs of 1,033 U.S. adults, showing a general preference for questions about climate solutions, though this varies significantly by political affiliation and climate belief groups. While 44% of the total population prioritizes solutions, those in the 'Alarmed' group are most focused on solutions (82%), whereas 'Dismissive' individuals are most interested in evidence (50%).

• Across the total U.S. population surveyed, the most common topic of inquiry for a global warming expert is 'Solutions' at 44%, followed by 'Evidence' at 20%, 'Causes' at 18%, and 'Impacts' at 11%.
• Interest in climate solutions is highest among Liberal Democrats (71%) and the 'Alarmed' group (82%), while it is lowest among Conservative Republicans (14%) and the 'Dismissive' group (3%).
• The 'Dismissive' group shows the strongest interest in evidence-related questions (50%), with 30% specifically asking if global warming is a hoax.
• Conservative Republicans are most likely to ask about the causes of global warming (33%) and the evidence for it (37%).
• Among those interested in solutions, the most frequent questions are whether there is still time to reduce global warming and what nations of the world can do, particularly among the 'Alarmed' group (28% and 25% respectively).
• The question 'Will global warming harm people?' received almost no interest across all demographic and political groups, with 0% responses in most categories.

APA

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (2023). What do Americans want to know about climate change? https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/ask-an-expert-data-tables.pdf

Chicago

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. What do Americans want to know about climate change? 2023. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/ask-an-expert-data-tables.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Yale Program on Climate Change Communication |title=What do Americans want to know about climate change? |date=October 2023 |url=https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/ask-an-expert-data-tables.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{yaleprogramonclimatechangecommunication2023what, author = {{Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}}, title = {{What do Americans want to know about climate change?}}, institution = {Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}, year = {2023}, month = oct, url = {https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/ask-an-expert-data-tables.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }