Politics & Global Warming

The report finds that while a majority of US registered voters believe global warming is happening and support various clean energy policies, there is a significant gap between their stated willingness to advocate for climate action and their actual behavior. Political polarization remains evident, with conservative Republicans showing the lowest levels of concern and support for regulatory measures, although they still support renewable energy research and tax rebates for energy-efficient products.

• A majority of registered voters (71%) believe global warming is occurring, with nearly all liberal Democrats (97%) agreeing, while fewer than half of conservative Republicans (42%) do.
• Most registered voters (56%) believe human activities are the primary cause of global warming, though this belief is significantly lower among liberal/moderate Republicans (45%) and conservative Republicans (30%).
• There is broad support for the U.S. reducing greenhouse gas emissions regardless of other countries' actions, held by 68% of all registered voters, including 62% of liberal/moderate Republicans and 47% of conservative Republicans.
• Registered voters show high support for clean energy incentives and research: 86% support funding research into solar and wind power, and 84% support tax rebates for energy-efficient vehicles or solar panels.
• Support for regulatory and fiscal climate policies is high overall but varies by party: 77% support regulating carbon dioxide as a pollutant and 70% support a revenue-neutral carbon tax, though support among conservative Republicans is lower at 51% and 43% respectively.
• A significant gap exists between intended and actual climate advocacy: 31% of registered voters say they would participate in a campaign to convince officials to take action, but only 12% have actually contacted an official in the past 12 months.
• Many voters feel a lack of agency or outreach; 64% believe contacting officials would not make a difference, and 78% report that nobody has ever asked them to contact elected officials about global warming.

APA

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (2017). Politics & Global Warming. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2017/07/Global-Warming-Policy-Politics-May-2017.pdf

Chicago

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. Politics & Global Warming. 2017. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2017/07/Global-Warming-Policy-Politics-May-2017.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Yale Program on Climate Change Communication |title=Politics & Global Warming |date=May 2017 |url=https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2017/07/Global-Warming-Policy-Politics-May-2017.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{yaleprogramonclimatechangecommunication2017politics, author = {{Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}}, title = {{Politics \& Global Warming}}, institution = {Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}, year = {2017}, month = may, url = {https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2017/07/Global-Warming-Policy-Politics-May-2017.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }