Report · Jul 21, 2022
Climate Change in the American Mind, April 2022
By Anthony Leiserowitz, Edward Maibach, Seth Rosenthal, John Kotcher, Jennifer Carman, Liz Neyens, Teresa Myers, Matthew Goldberg, Eryn Campbell, Karine Lacroix and Jennifer Marlon
Filed under: Beliefs & Attitudes and Climate Impacts
3. Perceived Risks of Global Warming
3.1. About four in ten Americans say they have personally experienced the effects of global warming.
About four in ten Americans (43%) agree that they have personally experienced the effects of global warming, while 57% disagree.
3.2. About half of Americans think people in the U.S. are being harmed “right now” by global warming.
About half of Americans (48%) think people in the U.S. are being harmed by global warming “right now.”
3.3. Nearly half of Americans think they will be harmed by global warming, but think others will be harmed more.
A majority of Americans understand that global warming will cause harm. Americans are most likely to think that future generations of people and plant and animal species (both 72%), the world’s poor and people in developing countries (both 69%), and people in the U.S. (65%) will be harmed “a great deal” or “a moderate amount” by global warming. Half or more think people in their community (52%) and their family (51%) will be harmed, and 47% think they themselves will be harmed.
3.4. More than one in ten Americans have considered moving to avoid the impacts of global warming.
According to a recent articlehttps://www.wired.com/story/as-climate-fears-mount-some-are-relocating-within-the-us/, an increasing number of people in the United States may be considering moving awayfrom areas particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts. We find that 13% of Americans have considered moving to avoid the impacts of global warming, while 78% have not, and 8% are not sure.
