Consumer Activism on Global Warming

The report finds that while about one-third of Americans have engaged in consumer activism by rewarding or punishing companies based on their climate actions, there is a significant intent among 41% of the population to increase these activities. Barriers to activism include a lack of knowledge about which companies to target and a perceived lack of individual influence. There is broad public support for companies taking climate-friendly actions, such as using renewable energy and avoiding the funding of climate-denying candidates, with particularly high expectations for fossil fuel, airline, and automotive industries.

• Approximately one-third of Americans have practiced consumer activism in the past year, with 33% rewarding companies taking steps to reduce global warming and 28% punishing those opposing such steps by avoiding their products.
• There is a notable intention to increase consumer activism over the next year, with 41% of Americans intending to more frequently reward companies that take climate action and 41% intending to more frequently punish those that oppose it.
• The primary barriers preventing Americans from punishing companies that oppose climate action are a lack of information on which companies to target (71%), a self-perception of not being an activist (61%), and the fact that they have not been asked to do so (58%). Other barriers include perceived lack of influence (49%), cost (47%), and inconvenience (45%).
• Americans generally support corporate political engagement for climate goals; 50% would be more likely to buy from a company lobbying Congress for global warming reduction legislation, compared to only 15% who would be less likely.
• A minority of Americans (38%) indicate they would be extremely, very, or moderately likely to switch their banking or credit card providers if they discovered the institution was investing in fossil fuel companies.
• Americans express higher confidence in their collective ability to influence local businesses (54%) than they do for large corporations (48%).
• There is widespread belief that industries should do more to address global warming, particularly for fossil fuel companies (70%), airlines (69%), auto companies (68%), and trucking companies (67%).
• Majorities of Americans support specific corporate climate actions, including stopping advertisements on networks that spread climate misinformation (75%), using 100% renewable energy (70%), and refusing campaign contributions to candidates who oppose climate action (65%).

APA

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (2021). Consumer Activism on Global Warming. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2021/12/consumer-activism-on-global-warming-september-2021.pdf

Chicago

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. Consumer Activism on Global Warming. 2021. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2021/12/consumer-activism-on-global-warming-september-2021.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Yale Program on Climate Change Communication |title=Consumer Activism on Global Warming |date=September 2021 |url=https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2021/12/consumer-activism-on-global-warming-september-2021.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{yaleprogramonclimatechangecommunication2021consumer, author = {{Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}}, title = {{Consumer Activism on Global Warming}}, institution = {Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}, year = {2021}, month = sep, url = {https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2021/12/consumer-activism-on-global-warming-september-2021.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }