Politics & Global Warming

The report finds that 75% of registered U.S. voters believe global warming is happening, with strong bipartisan support for renewable energy research and the Paris Climate Agreement. However, significant polarization remains regarding the causes of global warming and the Green New Deal, with Democrats viewing climate change as a much higher voting priority than Republicans.

• A large majority of registered voters believe global warming is occurring, reaching the highest level since 2008. This belief is nearly universal among liberal Democrats (98%) but significantly lower among conservative Republicans (47%).
• There is a partisan divide on the cause of global warming: 61% of all registered voters believe it is mostly human-caused, including 92% of liberal Democrats, compared to only 30% of conservative Republicans.
• Global warming is a significant voting issue for Democrats, ranking as the 2nd most important issue for liberal Democrats. In contrast, it is ranked near the bottom of priorities for Republicans.
• There is broad, bipartisan support for clean energy policies, including funding renewable energy research (87%), generating renewable energy on public land (86%), and providing tax rebates for energy-efficient vehicles or solar panels (83%).
• A majority of registered voters support carbon pricing mechanisms, with 68% supporting a revenue-neutral carbon tax and 60% supporting a 'Fee and Dividend' policy.
• The Green New Deal has substantial overall support at 72%, though this is heavily polarized, with 95% support among Democrats and 37% among conservative Republicans.
• U.S. participation in the Paris Climate Agreement is supported by 77% of registered voters, and 63% oppose the decision to withdraw from the agreement.
• Voters are split on fossil fuel production: 50% support expanding offshore drilling and 45% support drilling/mining on public lands, while only 30% support drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
• There is a strong consensus that the private sector should take more action, with 72% of registered voters stating that corporations and industry should do more to address global warming.
• Public opinion on climate adaptation is mixed; 39% of voters believe the federal government should help communities move to safer ground nearby, while 24% believe these communities should take care of themselves.

APA

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (2020). Politics & Global Warming. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2020/06/politics-global-warming-april-2020c.pdf

Chicago

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. Politics & Global Warming. 2020. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2020/06/politics-global-warming-april-2020c.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Yale Program on Climate Change Communication |title=Politics & Global Warming |date=April 2020 |url=https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2020/06/politics-global-warming-april-2020c.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{yaleprogramonclimatechangecommunication2020politics, author = {{Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}}, title = {{Politics \& Global Warming}}, institution = {Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}, year = {2020}, month = apr, url = {https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2020/06/politics-global-warming-april-2020c.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }