Environmental Polling Roundup – September 8, 2023
HEADLINES
USA Today + Ipsos – Most Americans say that they’ve grown more concerned about climate change in recent years, as majorities say that extreme heat and unusual weather have become more frequent where they live [Article, Topline]
The Economist + YouGov – Half of Americans say that they’ve personally been impacted by climate change, but there are wide partisan differences in people’s perceived experiences with climate change and their interpretations of extreme weather events [Topline, Crosstabs]
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Extreme heat continues to rank as the most salient day-to-day impact of climate change. Polling in recent years has shown that extreme heat is the most powerful example of the impacts of climate change on Americans’ day-to-day lives: more than any other type of extreme weather, Americans tend to say that extreme heat has affected them personally and is driven by climate change. Newly released polling by USA Today and Ipsos provides further evidence of extreme heat’s salience, as extreme heat ranks above any other type of weather event when Americans are asked which kinds of extreme weather they’ve recently experienced, which kinds of extreme weather have become more frequent in their area, and which kinds of extreme weather have become more intense where they live.
- Perceptions of the weather continue to diverge along partisan lines. Polls by USA Today and Ipsos and by The Economist and YouGov both demonstrate how partisanship colors Americans’ perceptions of the weather. USA Today and Ipsos find that Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say that various types of extreme weather events have become both more frequent and more intense where they live – including hot weather events, cold weather events, extremely wet weather, and extremely dry weather. Partisanship also shapes how people interpret new extreme weather events like Hurricane Idalia, as The Economist and YouGov find that Democrats are several times more likely than Republicans to say that climate change is a major factor behind recent hurricanes.
GOOD DATA POINTS TO HIGHLIGHT
- [Climate Change] 69% of Americans say that they’re concerned about climate change [USA Today + Ipsos]
- [Extreme Weather] 68% of Americans recognize that extreme weather events will become more frequent in the near future [USA Today + Ipsos]
- [Climate Change] 54% of Americans recognize that the world’s climate is changing as a result of human activity [The Economist + YouGov]
- [Climate Change] 53% of Americans say that they’ve become more concerned about climate change in the past few years, while only 10% say that they’ve become less concerned [USA Today + Ipsos]
- [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]
FULL ROUNDUP
USA Today + Ipsos – Most Americans say that they’ve grown more concerned about climate change in recent years, as majorities say that extreme heat and unusual weather have become more frequent where they live [Article, Topline]
In this newly released polling from late July, USA Today and Ipsos find that Americans are growing increasingly concerned about climate change as people notice more frequent and intense extreme weather events around them – especially extreme heat.
Most Americans (53%) say that they’ve grown more concerned about the effects of climate change over the past few years, compared to just 10% who say that they’ve become less concerned about climate change. Meanwhile, 36% say that their level of concern about climate change hasn’t changed in recent years.
Democrats (77%) and independents (52%) are more likely to say that their climate concerns have increased in recent years than Republicans, though Republicans are still more likely to say that their concerns have increased in recent years (33%) than to say that their concerns have decreased (15%).
USA Today and Ipsos have even measured an uptick in public concern about climate change since the spring. Nearly seven in ten Americans (69%) in their July poll say that they are at least “somewhat” concerned about climate change, up from 63% in April. This trend is consistent with other polling we’ve seen this summer and in past summers, as Americans tend to express greater concern about climate change in the warmer months.
The poll additionally finds that many Americans are feeling the effects of climate change and extreme weather in their own lives, with some even anticipating that climate impacts may force them to move. Roughly two in five (39%) agree that climate change is “negatively affecting my everyday life,” and nearly one-quarter (23%) agree that it “will get more difficult to stay in the area I currently live due to climate change.”
Extreme weather is a widespread concern, as about half of Americans (49%) said they had experienced an “extreme weather event” in their area in the month before the poll was conducted. Among those who said that they had recently experienced extreme weather, extreme heat (71%) was by far the most commonly cited event.
The poll also highlights an interesting relationship between Americans’ climate concerns and their perceived experiences with extreme weather, which we’ve seen in other polling as well. Americans who are the most concerned about climate change are also the most likely to say that they’ve experienced extreme weather events, in large part because Democrats are much more likely to say that they’ve experienced extreme weather than Republicans.
Pulling from the USA Today article linked above:
“Almost half the nation says they have faced extreme weather in the month before the poll was done in July. Among those, rates of concern about climate change are sky-high compared with those who haven’t.
The numbers tell the tale. At times it can seem as if people were living in different countries, or even different realities.
- Democrats are much more likely to say they’ve experienced extreme weather events recently compared with Republicans, 57% to 44%.
- Of the 49% of people who said they had faced extreme weather in the past month, 76% were either very or somewhat concerned about climate change.
- Among people who didn’t experience a recent extreme weather event, only 24% said they were very concerned.”
USA Today and Ipsos find that Americans are particularly attuned to the increased frequency and severity of extreme heat.
Majorities say that extreme heat (66%), unusual weather for the season (63%), and poor air quality or air pollution (61%) have become more frequent where they live in the past ten years. Sizable percentages also say that droughts (43%), heavy rainfall (42%), severe thunderstorms (40%), and flooding (39%) are occurring more often where they live. Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say that each of these weather events have become more frequent in their area.
Most Americans also say that extreme heat (64%), poor air quality or air pollution (59%), and unusual weather for the season (57%) have become more intense where they live. Additionally, more than two in five say that their area’s wildfires (47%), flooding (46%), droughts (45%), heavy rainfall (44%), and severe thunderstorms (42%) have become more intense over the past decade. Again, we see stark partisan differences as Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say that all of these weather events have become more intense where they live.
Looking ahead, Americans expect that extreme weather will become even more common: just over two-thirds (68%) agree that extreme weather events will become more frequent in the near future, including the vast majority of Democrats (85%) and about half of Republicans (49%).
The Economist + YouGov – Half of Americans say that they’ve personally been impacted by climate change, but there are wide partisan differences in people’s perceived experiences with climate change and their interpretations of extreme weather events [Topline, Crosstabs]
This new polling from The Economist and YouGov further underlines the partisan lens through which Americans view climate change and extreme weather events.
The majority of Americans (54%) recognize that the world’s climate is changing as a result of human activity, including more than three-quarters of Democrats (77%) and about three in ten Republicans (29%).
An additional 28% say that the world’s climate is changing for reasons other than human activity, including about half of Republicans (49%). Only 7% of Americans, and 11% of Republicans, deny that the world’s climate is changing.
In terms of personal impacts, half of Americans (50%) say that they’ve felt the effects of climate change in their own lives. Mirroring what USA Today and Ipsos found about the partisan differences in people’s self-reported experiences with extreme weather, Democrats (71%) are three times more likely than Republicans (27%) to say that they’ve been personally affected by climate change.
Republicans who say that they haven’t felt the effects of climate change aren’t necessarily climate deniers, however. Beyond the 27% of Republicans who say that they’ve already been impacted by climate change, an additional 9% expect to feel the effects in the future and 18% say that they aren’t sure if they will.
The partisan divide in Americans’ climate beliefs also means that different partisan audiences have very different interpretations of events like Hurricane Idalia.
Most Americans (59%) say that climate change is at least “somewhat” responsible for the extent of recent hurricanes, including about one-third (32%) who say that climate change is “mostly” or “entirely” responsible. Democrats perceive a much stronger link between climate change and hurricanes than Republicans, as the majority of Democrats (56%) but only 12% of Republicans say that climate change is “mostly” or “entirely” responsible for the extent of recent hurricanes.
Related Resources
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