Report · Jun 17, 2021
Climate Change in the American Mind, March 2021
By Anthony Leiserowitz, Edward Maibach, Seth Rosenthal, John Kotcher, Jennifer Carman, Xinran Wang, Jennifer Marlon, Karine Lacroix and Matthew Goldberg
Filed under: Beliefs & Attitudes
5. Efficacy Beliefs
5.1. Few Americans think it is too late to do anything about global warming.
Only 12% of Americans either “strongly” (3%) or “somewhat” (9%) agree with the statement “it’s already too late to do anything about global warming.” In contrast, about six in ten Americans (63%) are more optimistic – they either “strongly” (38%) or “somewhat” (25%) disagree that it’s already too late to do anything about global warming.
5.2. Most Americans disagree with the statement “the actions of a single individual won’t make any difference in global warming.”
Four in ten Americans (40%) either “strongly” (16%) or “somewhat” (24%) agree with the statement “the actions of a single individual won’t make any difference in global warming.” In contrast, about six in ten Americans (60%) either “strongly” (21%) or “somewhat” (38%) disagree that individual actions won’t make a difference.
5.3. A majority of Americans do not agree that new technologies can solve global warming without individual action.
Many Americans (45%) either “strongly” or “somewhat” agree that “new technologies can solve global warming without individuals having to make big changes in their lives,” while 54% of Americans either “strongly” or “somewhat” disagree.
