Report · Jul 16, 2024
Climate Change in the American Mind: Beliefs & Attitudes, Spring 2024
By Anthony Leiserowitz, Edward Maibach, Seth Rosenthal, John Kotcher, Emily Goddard, Jennifer Carman, Matthew Ballew, Marija Verner, Teresa Myers, Jennifer Marlon, Sanguk Lee, Matthew Goldberg, Nicholas Badullovich and Kathryn Thier
Filed under: Beliefs & Attitudes, Climate Impacts and Behaviors & Actions
2. Perceived Risks of Global Warming
2.1. Half of Americans say they have personally experienced the effects of global warming.
Half of Americans (50%) agree with the statement “I have personally experienced the effects of global warming,” while about half (49%) disagree.
2.2. Many Americans think people in the U.S. are being harmed “right now” by global warming.
Just under half of Americans (47%) think people in the U.S. are being harmed by global warming “right now.”
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 plant and animal species (72%), future generations of people (72%), the world’s poor (69%), people in developing countries (68%), people in the United States (65%), and people in their community (52%). Many Americans also think their family (49%) and they themselves (44%) 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 12% of Americans have considered moving to avoid the impacts of global warming, while 81% have not, and 7% are not sure.
