Public Support for International Climate Action

The report presents survey data from March 2021 on U.S. registered voters' perspectives on international climate action. It finds broad support for the U.S. reducing emissions regardless of other nations' actions, participation in the Paris Climate Agreement, and pressuring other countries to reduce carbon pollution. While there is strong consensus that developing and industrialized nations should do more to address global warming, support for providing financial aid for mitigation and adaptation to developing countries is more divided along partisan lines.

• A majority of registered voters (61%) believe the United States should reduce its greenhouse gas emissions independently of the actions of other countries. This view is strongest among liberal Democrats (88%) and weakest among conservative Republicans (36%).
• There is high agreement among U.S. registered voters that other nations must increase their efforts to combat global warming: 79% believe developing countries (such as China, India, and Brazil) should do more, 71% believe other industrialized countries (such as England, Germany, and Japan) should do more, and 65% believe the United States should do more.
• Support for U.S. participation in the Paris Climate Agreement is high at 70% overall. This support is nearly universal among Democrats (96% for both liberal and moderate/conservative groups), while it is lower among Republicans, with 60% of liberal/moderate Republicans and 35% of conservative Republicans in support.
• More than half of registered voters support the U.S. providing financial and technical assistance to developing countries for both climate mitigation (58%) and adaptation (54%). Support is significantly lower among conservative Republicans, where only 26% support mitigation aid and 19% support adaptation aid.
• Three-quarters of registered voters (75%) support the United States using pressure to encourage other countries to reduce their carbon pollution, including a majority of liberal/moderate Republicans (68%) and about half of conservative Republicans (51%).

APA

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (2021). Public Support for International Climate Action. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2021/04/public-support-international-climate-action-march-2021.pdf

Chicago

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. Public Support for International Climate Action. 2021. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2021/04/public-support-international-climate-action-march-2021.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Yale Program on Climate Change Communication |title=Public Support for International Climate Action |date=March 2021 |url=https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2021/04/public-support-international-climate-action-march-2021.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{yaleprogramonclimatechangecommunication2021public, author = {{Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}}, title = {{Public Support for International Climate Action}}, institution = {Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}, year = {2021}, month = mar, url = {https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2021/04/public-support-international-climate-action-march-2021.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }