Report · Jun 8, 2023
Climate Change in the American Mind: Beliefs & Attitudes, Spring 2023
By Anthony Leiserowitz, Edward Maibach, Seth Rosenthal, John Kotcher, Sanguk Lee, Marija Verner, Matthew Ballew, Jennifer Carman, Teresa Myers, Matthew Goldberg, Nicholas Badullovich and Jennifer Marlon
Filed under: Beliefs & Attitudes and Climate Impacts
2. Perceived Risks of Global Warming
2.1. Many Americans say they have personally experienced the effects of global warming.
Many Americans (44%) agree with the statement “I have personally experienced the effects of global warming,” although a majority of Americans (55%) disagree.
2.2. 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.” This percentage has trended generally upward since this survey began in 2008.
2.3. Many Americans think global warming will harm them, but more think others will be harmed.
A majority of Americans understand that global warming will cause harm. Half or more Americans think global warming will cause either “a great deal” or “a moderate amount” of harm to future generations of people (71%), plant and animal species (70%), the world’s poor (69%), people in developing countries (68%), people in the United States (64%), people in their community (55%), or their family (52%). Many Americans also think they themselves (47%) will be harmed.
2.4. About one in ten Americans have considered moving to avoid the impacts of global warming.
Research indicatesHauer, M. E. (2017). Migration induced by sea-level rise could reshape the US population landscape. Nature Climate Change, 7(5), 321-325. doi:10.1038/nclimate3271 that an increasing number of people in the United States may be considering moving away from areas particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts. We find that 11% of Americans have considered moving to avoid the impacts of global warming, while 83% have not, and 6% are not sure.
