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
5. Fatalism
5.1. Few Americans think it is too late to do anything about global warming.
About two-thirds of Americans (66%) either “strongly” (38%) or “somewhat” (29%) disagree with the statement: “it’s already too late to do anything about global warming.” By contrast, relatively few Americans (13%) either “strongly” (2%) or “somewhat” (11%) agree with this statement.
5.2. Most Americans disagree with the statement “the actions of a single individual won’t make any difference in global warming.”
A majority of Americans (57%) either “strongly” (19%) or “somewhat” (38%) disagree with the statement “the actions of a single individual won’t make any difference in global warming” (refer to data tables, p. 61). In contrast, about four in ten Americans (42%) either “strongly” (16%) or “somewhat” (26%) agree that individual actions won’t make a difference.
5.3. Most Americans do not think new technologies can solve global warming without individual action.
Most Americans (56%) either “strongly” (20%) or “somewhat” (36%) disagree with the statement “new technologies can solve global warming without individuals having to make big changes in their lives” (refer to data tables, p. 62), while 44% of Americans either “strongly” (6%) or “somewhat” (37%) agree with this statement.
