This report documents an upward trend in Americans’ concern about global warming, as reflected in several key indicators tracked since 2008, including substantial increases in Americans’ certainty that global warming is happening and harming people in the United States now. The proportion of Americans who are very worried about global warming has more than doubled since its lowest point in 2011. Increasing numbers of Americans say they have personally experienced global warming and that the issue is personally important to them. Details on these and other measures of global warming beliefs and attitudes are described below:
- Seven in ten Americans (70%) think global warming is happening, an increase of seven percentage points since March 2015. Only about one in seven Americans (14%) think global warming is not happening. Americans who think global warming is happening outnumber those who think it is not by a 5 to 1 ratio.
- Americans are also becoming increasingly certain that global warming is happening – 49% are “extremely” or “very” sure it is happening, an increase of 12 percentage points since March 2015. By contrast, far fewer – 7% – are “extremely” or “very sure” global warming is not happening.
- Over half of Americans (58%) understand that global warming is mostly human-caused. By contrast, about three in ten (28%) say it is due mostly to natural changes in the environment.
- Only about one in seven Americans (15%) understand that nearly all climate scientists (more than 90%) have concluded that human-caused global warming is happening.
- About six in ten Americans (62%) say they are at least “somewhat worried” about global warming. About one in five (21%) are “very worried” about it – nearly twice the proportion that were “very worried” in March 2015.
- Six in ten Americans are “interested” in global warming (62%). Fewer feel “disgusted” (47%) or “helpless” (45%). Only about four in ten are “hopeful” (41%).
- About six in ten Americans (61%) think global warming is affecting weather in the United States, and three in ten think weather is being affected “a lot” (29%).
- Four in ten Americans (41%) say they have personally experienced the effects of global warming, an increase of 10 percentage points since March 2015.
- About four in ten Americans (39%) think people in the United States are being harmed by global warming “right now.” The proportion that believes people are being harmed “right now” has increased by seven percentage points since March 2015.
- Four in ten or more Americans think they (42%) or their family (47%) will be harmed by global warming. Even more think global warming will harm people in the U.S. (58%), people in developing countries (62%), the world’s poor (63%), future generations of people (71%) and/or plant and animal species (71%).
- About six in ten Americans (63%) say the issue of global warming is either “extremely” (10%), “very” (18%), or “somewhat” (35%) important to them personally, while more than one in three (37%) say it is either “not too” (22%) or “not at all” (15%) important personally. The proportion who say it is personally important has increased by seven percentage points since March 2015.
- Only about one in three Americans (35%) say they discuss global warming with family and friends “often” or “occasionally,” although this is an increase of nine percentage points since March 2015. However, more say they “rarely” or “never” discuss it (65%). Additionally, about four in ten Americans (43%) say they hear about global warming in the media at least once a month, and one in five (20%) say they hear people they know talk about global warming at least once a month.
- Americans say there are many reasons why they don’t talk about global warming with their family and friends. About one in three say that they don’t talk about it because it never comes up in conversation (35%) and/or because they already all agree about global warming (33%). Fewer say they don’t know enough to talk about it (28%), their family and friends are not interested in it (27%), it is too political (26%), and/or it has never occurred to them to talk about it (25%).
- Half of Americans (50%) say they have thought “a lot” (20%) or “some” (30%) about global warming. The other half have thought about global warming just “a little” (34%) or “not at all” (16%).
- Few Americans are confident that humans will reduce global warming. About half (49%) say humans could reduce global warming, but it’s unclear at this point whether we will do what is necessary, and about one in five (22%) say we won’t reduce global warming because people are unwilling to change their behavior. Only 6% say humans can and will successfully reduce global warming.
- The most common reason why Americans want to reduce global warming is to provide a better life for our children and grandchildren – a reason selected by one in four Americans (24%). The next most common reasons are preventing the destruction of most life on the planet (16%) and protecting God’s creation (12%).
- Large majorities of Americans think of global warming as an environmental (74%), scientific (68%), agricultural (62%), severe weather (61%), health (60%), political (58%), and/or economic issue (57%). Fewer think it is a moral (41%), social justice (29%), poverty (28%), national security (25%), and/or religious issue (13%).
- A majority of Americans are worried about harm from extreme events in their local area including extreme heat (64%), droughts (61%), flooding (60%), and/or water shortages (52%).