Report · Nov 18, 2021
Climate Change in the American Mind, September 2021
By Anthony Leiserowitz, Edward Maibach, Seth Rosenthal, John Kotcher, Jennifer Carman, Liz Neyens, Jennifer Marlon, Karine Lacroix and Matthew Goldberg
Filed under: Beliefs & Attitudes and Climate Impacts
5. Efficacy Beliefs
5.1. Few Americans think it is too late to do anything about global warming.
Two in three Americans (67%) either “strongly” (41%) or “somewhat” (26%) disagree with the statement that “it’s already too late to do anything about global warming.” By contrast, relatively few Americans either “strongly” or “somewhat” 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.”
About four in ten Americans (39%) either “strongly” (14%) or “somewhat” (25%) 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 (61%) either “strongly” (23%) or “somewhat” (38%) disagree that individual actions won’t make a difference.
5.3. Americans are split about whether new technologies can solve global warming without individual action.
Many Americans (48%) either “strongly” or “somewhat” agree that “new technologies can solve global warming without individuals having to make big changes in their lives,” while 52% of Americans either “strongly” or “somewhat” disagree.
