REPORT: Climate Change in the American Mind: Beliefs & Attitudes, December 2022

This report was originally published on February 16, 2023 on the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication website.

By Anthony Leiserowitz, Edward Maibach, Seth Rosenthal, John Kotcher, Jennifer Carman, Marija Verner, Sanguk Lee, Matthew Ballew, Sri Saahitya Uppalapati, Eryn Campbell, Teresa Myers, Matthew Goldberg and Jennifer Marlon

Executive Summary

Drawing on a nationally representative survey (n = 1,085) conducted from December 2 – 12, 2022, this report describes Americans’ beliefs and attitudes about global warming. We previously reported findings from this survey on public support for U.S. climate policy.

Among the key findings of this report:

Global Warming Beliefs

Americans who think global warming is happening outnumber those who think it is not happening by a ratio of more than 4 to 1 (70% versus 16%).

Climate Change in the American Mind: Beliefs & Attitudes, December 2022

Those who are “very” or “extremely” sure global warming is happening outnumber those who are “very” or “extremely” sure it is not happening by about 5 to 1 (51% versus 10%).

More than half of Americans (58%) understand that global warming is mostly human-caused. About one in four (27%) think it is due mostly to natural changes in the environment.

A majority of Americans (58%) understand that most scientists think global warming is happening.

Perceived Risks of Global Warming

About half of Americans (49%) think people in the United States are being harmed by global warming “right now,” and nearly as many (47%) say they have personally experienced the effects of global warming.

44% of Americans think they will be harmed by global warming, 48% think their family will be harmed, and half (50%) think people in their community will be harmed. Majorities of Americans think global warming will harm people in the U.S. (62%), people in developing countries (66%), the world’s poor (66%), future generations of people (68%), and plant and animal species (70%).

Climate Change in the American Mind: Beliefs & Attitudes, December 2022

One in ten Americans (10%) have considered moving to avoid the impacts of global warming.

Personal and Social Engagement with Global Warming

Most Americans (63%) say they “rarely” or “never” discuss global warming with family and friends, while 37% say they do so “occasionally” or “often.”

More than half of Americans (57%) say they hear about global warming in the media about once a month or more frequently. Fewer (25%) say they hear people they know talk about global warming once a month or more frequently.

Two in three Americans (67%) say the issue of global warming is either “extremely,” “very,” or “somewhat” important to them personally, while 33% say it is either “not too” or “not at all” personally important.

Fewer than half of Americans think their friends and family take action on global warming or that their friends and family expect them to take action: 36% say their family and friends make at least “a moderate amount of effort” to reduce global warming (a descriptive norm) while 41% think it is at least “moderately” important to their family and friends that they take action (an injunctive norm).

A majority of Americans (63%) say they feel a personal sense of responsibility to help reduce global warming.

Climate Change in the American Mind: Beliefs & Attitudes, December 2022

About three in ten Americans (29%) say they look for information about solutions to global warming several times a year or more often.

Impacts of Global Warming

A majority of Americans (60%) think global warming is affecting weather in the United States, including 31% who think weather is being affected “a lot.”

Majorities of Americans think global warming is affecting many environmental problems in the United States including extreme heat, droughts, and wildfires (all 70%), water shortages (68%), rising sea levels (67%), flooding (66%), air pollution (64%), hurricanes (64%), tornados (62%), reduced snow pack (61%), agricultural pests and diseases (60%), water pollution (58%), and electricity power outages (57%).

Climate Change in the American Mind: Beliefs & Attitudes, December 2022

A majority of Americans (56%) think extreme weather poses either a “high” (17%) or “moderate” (38%) risk to their community over the next 10 years.

Majorities of Americans are worried about harm to their local area from water pollution (79%), electricity power outages (79%), air pollution (78%), droughts (75%), extreme heat (74%), agricultural pests and diseases (74%), water shortages (72%), flooding (65%), wildfires (62%), and tornados (61%). About half are worried about rising sea levels (52%), reduced snow pack (49%), and hurricanes (48%).

My Take: Businesses Should Take Action

We already know that Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) regulation is coming from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). We also know that companies like Wal-Mart, Target, Walgreens and REI are now requiring climate-related disclosures from companies that wish to sell products in their stores. Based on this report, and lots of other one’s like it, we know that: 1) Americans know that global warming is happening; 2) global warming will harm their families, communities, plants and animals and future generations; 3) most Americans feel a personal sense of responsibility to help reduce global warming; 4) and that global warming is affecting many of our environmental problems like wildfires, drought and sea level rise. So, what’s my point?

If your company is publicly traded, sells to large retailers or sells products direct to consumers, and you are not measuring and improving your overall sustainability performance, you are not competently mitigating risks for your company. If you are reading this article, you may be saying to yourself, that all makes sense, but where do we even begin?