Report · May 19, 2020
Climate Change in the American Mind: April 2020
By Anthony Leiserowitz, Edward Maibach, Seth Rosenthal, John Kotcher, Parrish Bergquist, Matthew Ballew, Matthew Goldberg, Abel Gustafson and Xinran Wang
Filed under: Beliefs & Attitudes
Report Summary
Our latest national survey finds that, in the midst of the COVID-19 epidemic, American public opinion about climate change has remained steady and, in some cases, reached all-time highs. For example, Americans’ understanding that climate change is happening has tied the prior all-time high, and public understanding that global warming is human-caused has reached an all-time high. The report includes many other interesting findings, including how often Americans hear and talk about global warming.
This report is based on findings from a nationally representative survey – Climate Change in the American Mind – conducted by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (climatecommunication.yale.edu) and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication (climatechangecommunication.org). Interview dates: April 7 – 17, 2020. Interviews: 1,029 Adults (18+). Average margin of error +/- 3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.