Climate Change in the American Mind: Beliefs & Attitudes

The Fall 2025 report on 'Climate Change in the American Mind' reveals that 72% of Americans believe global warming is happening, with 58% attributing it primarily to human activity. While 64% express worry about global warming, a significant majority (61%) underestimate the prevalence of this concern among their fellow citizens. The report highlights a strong perception that global warming is currently affecting U.S. weather, particularly extreme heat (74%), wildfires (72%), and droughts (72%). Despite these beliefs, frequent discussion of the topic remains low, with 44% of adults stating they never discuss global warming with family and friends. Personal importance of the issue has declined to 59%, the lowest level in 10 years. Consumer activism is present but limited, with 31% rewarding climate-friendly companies and 26% punishing those opposing climate action over the past year.

• A strong majority of Americans believe global warming is occurring and is primarily caused by humans. Specifically, 72% think global warming is happening, and 58% believe it is "mostly human-caused," compared to 29% who attribute it to "natural changes in the environment."
• There is a significant gap between actual public worry and the perception of that worry. While 64% of Americans are at least "somewhat worried" about global warming, 61% of the population underestimate the proportion of other Americans who share this concern.
• Americans perceive global warming as a current threat to the United States, with 44% believing people in the U.S. are being harmed "right now" and 47% reporting they have personally experienced its effects.
• Global warming is widely seen as influencing extreme weather in the U.S., with the highest perceived impacts being extreme heat (74%), wildfires (72%), and droughts (72%).
• Despite personal concern, social engagement and frequent communication about global warming are low. Only 20% of Americans discuss the topic with family and friends at least a few times a month, and 44% say they "never discuss global warming with family and friends."
• Personal importance of global warming has reached a decade-low. Currently, 59% of Americans consider the issue "extremely," "very," or "somewhat" important to them personally, which is a 5 percentage point decrease from Spring 2025.
• A minority of Americans have considered relocating their homes to avoid climate impacts, with 12% stating they have considered moving to avoid effects such as sea-level rise, flooding, heat waves, or wildfires.
• Consumer activism is utilized by about one-third of the population. In the past 12 months, 31% of Americans bought products from companies taking steps to reduce global warming, and 26% avoided products from companies opposing such steps.

APA

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (2025). Climate Change in the American Mind: Beliefs & Attitudes. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2026/01/climate-change-american-mind-beliefs-attitudes-fall-2025.pdf

Chicago

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. Climate Change in the American Mind: Beliefs & Attitudes. 2025. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2026/01/climate-change-american-mind-beliefs-attitudes-fall-2025.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Yale Program on Climate Change Communication |title=Climate Change in the American Mind: Beliefs & Attitudes |date=September 2025 |url=https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2026/01/climate-change-american-mind-beliefs-attitudes-fall-2025.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{yaleprogramonclimatechangecommunication2025climate, author = {{Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}}, title = {{Climate Change in the American Mind: Beliefs \& Attitudes}}, institution = {Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}, year = {2025}, month = sep, url = {https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2026/01/climate-change-american-mind-beliefs-attitudes-fall-2025.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }