Climate Activism: A Six Americas Analysis

The report analyzes climate activism in the U.S. using the 'Six Americas' framework, finding that while many Americans—particularly those in the 'Alarmed' segment—express a willingness to participate in climate campaigns and political actions, actual participation rates remain low. Consumer activism, such as rewarding or punishing companies based on their climate records, is more common than direct political advocacy. The study also notes a trend toward increased alarm regarding global warming over a five-year period and highlights that perceived collective efficacy is higher for local than for national decision-makers.

• The American public's attitude toward global warming has shifted toward the 'Alarmed' segment over five years; in October 2015, the Alarmed (17%) outnumbered the Dismissive (10%) by seven percentage points, but by December 2020, they outnumbered them by more than 3 to 1 (26% vs. 8%).
• Americans generally feel more confident in their collective ability to influence local entities than national ones. 51% are at least "moderately confident" that people like them can affect local businesses, compared to 43% for the federal government and 43% for corporations.
• There is a significant gap between the willingness to participate in climate campaigns and actual participation. While 29% of Americans say they would definitely or probably participate in a campaign to convince elected officials to take action, only 1% report currently doing so.
• A minority of Americans are open to non-violent civil disobedience; 25% would support an organization engaging in such activities against corporate or government actions that worsen global warming, and 15% would personally engage in it.
• Direct political engagement in the past 12 months has been low, with only 9% of Americans contacting an elected official to urge action on global warming, though this rises to 24% among the Alarmed segment.
• Consumer-based activism is more prevalent than political activism. 36% of Americans have rewarded companies taking steps to reduce global warming by buying their products, and 30% have punished companies opposing such steps by not buying them.

APA

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (2020). Climate Activism: A Six Americas Analysis. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2021/03/climate-activism-six-americas-december-2020.pdf

Chicago

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. Climate Activism: A Six Americas Analysis. 2020. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2021/03/climate-activism-six-americas-december-2020.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Yale Program on Climate Change Communication |title=Climate Activism: A Six Americas Analysis |date=December 2020 |url=https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2021/03/climate-activism-six-americas-december-2020.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{yaleprogramonclimatechangecommunication2020climate, author = {{Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}}, title = {{Climate Activism: A Six Americas Analysis}}, institution = {Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}, year = {2020}, month = dec, url = {https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2021/03/climate-activism-six-americas-december-2020.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }