Environmental Polling Roundup – June 2, 2023
HEADLINES
The Economist + YouGov – Nearly half of Americans anticipate a warmer summer than usual, and most blame climate change for the hotter temperatures they expect (Topline, Crosstabs)
UC-Berkeley – More than two-thirds of California voters expect extreme weather swings to become more common due to climate change, and Californians are deeply concerned about the water situation in the West (Release, Crosstabs)
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Americans are bracing for more climate change-driven extreme heat this summer. We often see climate change increase as a concern in polling during the warmer summer months, and The Economist and YouGov find that many Americans are already predicting another historically hot summer. The overwhelming majority of Americans expect summer in their area to be as hot or hotter than usual (following two of the hottest summers on record in the U.S. in 2021 and 2022), including nearly half who expect this summer to be even hotter. And among those who expect this summer to be unusually hot, the overwhelming majority say that climate change is the reason – indicating that the public will likely be more attuned to climate change and more eager to hear climate solutions as the weather gets warmer over the next few months.
- The water situation in the West continues to be a dominant concern for those impacted. Polling this year shows that water availability is a top-ranking issue for Americans in Western states, with droughts and the depletion of the Colorado River forcing Western residents to view water availability as a day-to-day concern. New polling of California voters by UC-Berkeley confirms that water conservation is a high priority for voters in the state, as Californians overwhelmingly agree that the state needs to keep up its enforcement of water conservation policies and reduce deliveries from the Colorado River.
GOOD DATA POINTS TO HIGHLIGHT
- [Climate Change] The majority of Americans (56%) recognize that the world’s climate is changing as the result of human activity [The Economist/YouGov]
- [Climate Change] Nearly half of Americans (46%) say that they’ve personally felt the effects of climate change, and an additional 12% say that they haven’t been impacted yet but expect to feel the effects in the future [The Economist/YouGov]
- [Issue Priority] More Americans name climate change and the environment as the single “most important issue” to them than any other issue aside from inflation/prices, health care, and the economy/jobs [The Economist/YouGov]
- [California] 81% of California voters say that it’s important for the state to continue enforcing water conservation policies for residential, commercial, and agricultural water users – including 52% who say it’s “very” important [UC-Berkeley]
- [California] 69% of California voters expect extreme swings in the state’s weather to become more common because of climate change [UC-Berkeley]
- [California] 60% of California voters support reducing water deliveries from the Colorado River [UC-Berkeley]
FULL ROUNDUP
The Economist + YouGov – Nearly half of Americans anticipate a warmer summer than usual, and most blame climate change for the hotter temperatures they expect (Topline, Crosstabs)
The latest national poll from The Economist and YouGov finds that most Americans recognize that the world’s climate is changing as a result of human activity (56%), while one-quarter say that the world’s climate is changing naturally (25%) and only 7% deny that climate change is happening at all.
In terms of personal impacts, nearly half (46%) say that they have personally felt the effects of climate change. An additional 12% say that they haven’t felt the effects yet but expect to in the future, while only 18% Americans believe that they will never be personally impacted by climate change in their lifetimes.
Americans’ attitudes about the causes and personal impacts of climate change have shifted little since The Economist and YouGov last asked these specific questions in February.
As has been the case for many years, there are large partisan gaps in Americans’ beliefs and self-reported experiences with climate change. Democrats (81%) are 47 points more likely than Republicans (34%) to say that the world’s climate is changing as a result of human activity, and Democrats (68%) are 42 points more likely than Republicans (26%) to report that they’ve personally been impacted by climate change.
These partisan gaps extend to Americans’ expectations about the weather. Democrats (67%) are more than twice as likely as Republicans (32%) to say that they expect an unusually hot summer in their area this year. Overall, nearly half of Americans (46%) expect summer temperatures in their area to be warmer than usual, while 31% expect temperatures to be about the same and 10% anticipate a relatively cooler summer.
Regardless of party affiliation, however, Americans who expect unusually hot summer temperatures tend to say that climate change is the reason. Among those who say that they expect summer in their area to be unusually warm, 73% attribute it more to climate change than natural patterns – including 83% of Democrats, 71% of independents, and 52% of Republicans.
UC-Berkeley – More than two-thirds of California voters expect extreme weather swings to become more common due to climate change, and Californians are deeply concerned about the water situation in the West (Release, Crosstabs)
UC-Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies (IGS) finds that Californians, like the rest of the country, are concerned about extreme weather becoming more common as a result of climate change.
When presented with competing statements about the recent swings in California’s weather, from severe droughts to heavy rain and snow, nearly seven in ten California voters (69%) agree that these extreme swings will become more common due to climate change:
- “Because of climate change we should now expect these major swings in the weather to become more commonplace in the future” (69% agree more with this statement)
- “While the weather over the past few years has been unusual, it will not likely be repeated in the near future” (19% agree more with this statement)
About one-third of the state’s voters (31%) say that they were impacted either “a great deal” (8%) or “somewhat” (23%) by the heavy rains, snow, and flooding in the state this year. And among those who report being impacted “a great deal” by the heavy precipitation this year, 40% are “very concerned” that they may need to move out of their area in the next few years because of extreme weather.
The poll additionally finds that Californians, like Americans throughout the West, remain deeply concerned about water conservation and availability despite the unusually wet weather in the state earlier this year.
Roughly four in five Californians (81%) agree that it’s important for the state to continue to enforce its water conservation policies for residential, commercial, and agricultural water users – including more than half (52%) who say it’s “very important” to keep up these water conservation efforts.
The poll, which was fielded shortly before states in the region reached a deal to collectively cut water usage from the historically depleted Colorado River, further found that the majority of Californians (60%) supported some kind of deal to reduce water deliveries from the Colorado River. Only 14% of California voters said that they opposed reductions to water deliveries from the Colorado River.
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