Yale Program on Climate Change Communication

1. The Politics of Global Warming Beliefs

1.1. Seven in ten registered voters think global warming is happening.

Seven in ten registered voters (71%) think global warming is happening, the same percentage as in our first survey in November 2008. This includes nearly all liberal Democrats (97%; five percentage points higher than in 2008), a large majority of moderate/conservative Democrats (85%), and a majority of liberal/moderate Republicans (65%). In contrast, fewer than half of conservative Republicans (42%) think global warming is happening – eight percentage points lower than in 2008, but fifteen points higher than its low point in 2013 (see Tables).

1.2. A majority of registered voters think global warming is caused mostly by human activities.

A majority of registered voters (56%) think global warming is caused mostly by human activities. This includes a large majority of liberal Democrats (87%; seven percentage points higher than in our previous survey in November 2016 (see Tables) and nine points higher than in 2008). A majority of moderate/conservative Democrats (62%) also think global warming is mostly human-caused.

Fewer than half of liberal/moderate Republicans (45%; nine points lower than in November 2016) think global warming is caused mostly by human activities. Only three in ten conservative Republicans (30%) think global warming is mostly human-caused.

1.3. More than half of registered voters are worried about global warming.

More than half of registered voters (55%; seven points lower than in 2008, see Tables) are “very” or “somewhat” worried about global warming. This includes large majorities of liberal Democrats (86%) and moderate/conservative Democrats (72%).

Fewer than half of liberal/moderate Republicans (43%; 16 points lower than in November 2016 and 18 points lower than in 2008) are worried about global warming. About one in four conservative Republicans (23%) are worried about global warming – eight points lower than in 2008.