Climate Change in the American Mind: Politics & Policy

A November 2025 survey of 990 registered U.S. voters reveals broad support for clean energy research, soil restoration, and the Paris Climate Agreement, though global warming remains a low-priority voting issue overall. While 59% prefer candidates who support climate action, only 1% rank it as their most important voting issue. There is strong bipartisan support for the proposed Foreign Pollution Fee Act (78%) and protecting workers from extreme heat (92%). However, actual political engagement remains low, with only 10% of voters having contacted government officials about global warming in the past year.

• Global warming is a low priority for the majority of registered voters when deciding on candidates for the 2026 congressional elections. Only 1% of registered voters identified it as their most important voting issue, ranking it 17th out of 25 issues.
• Despite its low rank as a primary voting issue, a majority of registered voters (59%) would prefer a candidate for public office who supports action on global warming over one who opposes it.
• There is strong, broad support for specific climate-friendly policies, including federal funding for soil restoration to absorb carbon (87%), renewable energy research (77%), and the regulation of carbon dioxide as a pollutant (74%).
• Registered voters show high support for protecting people from environmental hazards, with 92% supporting heat protection for workers and 80% supporting stricter industrial pollution enforcement in low-income communities and communities of color.
• The Foreign Pollution Fee Act, which would tax imports based on carbon emissions, has very low name recognition (2%) but high support (78%) after respondents read a description of the proposal.
• There is significant bipartisan support for the Paris Climate Agreement, with 77% of registered voters supporting U.S. participation and 64% opposing President Trump's decision to withdraw from it.
• Public opinion on energy production is split; while 75% support renewable energy on public land, support for fossil fuel extraction is lower, with 49% supporting offshore drilling and 33% supporting drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
• A majority of registered voters (66%) believe the U.S. should increase its use of renewable energy, and 55% believe it should decrease its use of fossil fuels in the future.
• Actual political advocacy for climate action is low: only 10% of registered voters contacted government officials to urge action on global warming in the past year, and only 2% are currently participating in a campaign to convince officials to act.
• There is strong support for climate education in schools, with 73% of registered voters agreeing that children should be taught about the causes, consequences, and solutions to global warming.

APA

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (2025). Climate Change in the American Mind: Politics & Policy. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2025/12/climate-change-american-mind-politics-policy-fall-2025.pdf

Chicago

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. Climate Change in the American Mind: Politics & Policy. 2025. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2025/12/climate-change-american-mind-politics-policy-fall-2025.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Yale Program on Climate Change Communication |title=Climate Change in the American Mind: Politics & Policy |date=2025 |url=https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2025/12/climate-change-american-mind-politics-policy-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: Politics \& Policy}}, institution = {Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}, year = {2025}, url = {https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2025/12/climate-change-american-mind-politics-policy-fall-2025.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }