Yale Program on Climate Change Communication

4. Special Section: Global Warming and the Cost of Living

4.1 Two-thirds of registered voters think global warming is affecting the cost of living in the United States.

Two-thirds of registered voters (67%) think global warming is affecting the cost of living in the United States at least “a little.” Majorities of liberal Democrats (88%), moderate/conservative Democrats (84%), and liberal/moderate Republicans (57%) think so, as do 42% of conservative Republicans.

Similarly, 64% of registered voters think global warming is affecting their own cost of living at least “a little.” This includes majorities of liberal Democrats (86%), moderate/conservative Democrats (81%), and liberal/moderate Republicans (51%), as well as 37% of conservative Republicans.

4.2 Registered voters are most likely to say that their costs of energy, food, transportation, and insurance are being affected by global warming.

Registered voters who said their own cost of living was being affected at least “a little” by global warming (refer to Section 4.1) were then asked which of their costs of living were being affected by global warming (for details, refer to Appendix II, p. 100 and data tables, p. 69).36% of registered voters were not asked this question because they did not indicate that they thought their own cost of living was being affected by global warming. This includes 14% of liberal Democrats, 19% of moderate/conservative Democrats, 49% of liberal/moderate Republicans, and 63% of conservative Republicans. Across the political spectrum, energy costs is the most frequent response (25% of registered voters; including 43% of liberal Democrats, 30% of moderate/conservative Democrats, 21% of liberal/moderate Republicans, and 10% of conservative Republicans).

Among all registered voters, food is the second most mentioned cost that is increasing because of global warming (13%), followed by transportation (9%), insurance (7%), and utilities (5%). Additionally, 3% of registered voters say the cost of everything is being affected by global warming.

4.3 Majorities of registered voters think global warming is causing the cost they pay for utilities, groceries, owning and operating a vehicle, and home insurance to increase.

After providing top of mind thoughts about what personal costs of living were being affected by global warming (refer to Section 4.2), respondents were then asked whether global warming was causing the cost they pay for various goods and services to increase or decrease, or was not having much effect either way.

Majorities of registered voters think global warming is causing the price they pay for the following to increase:

• Home utility bills: 66% of registered voters, including 86% of liberal Democrats, 76% of moderate/conservative Democrats, 59% liberal/moderate Republicans, and 43% of conservative Republicans.
• Groceries: 61% of registered voters, including 83% of liberal Democrats, 72% of moderate/conservative Democrats, 53% liberal/moderate Republicans, and 34% of conservative Republicans.
• Owning and operating a car/truck: 56% of registered voters, including 73% of liberal Democrats, 65% of moderate/conservative Democrats, 51% of liberal/moderate Republicans, and 35% of conservative Republicans.
• Home insurance: 51% of registered voters, including 68% of liberal Democrats, 62% of moderate/conservative Democrats, 40% liberal/moderate Republicans, and 31% of conservative Republicans.

Fewer registered voters think global warming is causing their costs for home repair and maintenance (43%) or health care (35%) to increase.