This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including a new analysis of Americans’ climate concerns by Gallup, a newly published academic paper about pro-climate messaging, and new polls of Arizona voters and American farmers.
Headlines
Gallup – Four in ten Americans say that they worry “a great deal” about global warming or climate change, and concerns are particularly high among Black and Hispanic Americans [Article]
Yale + Potential Energy Coalition – Messages focused on urgency for the next generation, polluter accountability, and climate progress all boost support for climate action across countries, with an “Urgency and Generational” message having the largest impact [Release, Published Paper]
[AZ] American Lung Association – Arizona voters widely agree that climate change is affecting them now, and want state policymakers to do more about it – including transitioning more to solar and wind power [Release, Memo, Topline]
[Farmers] National Wildlife Federation – The overwhelming majority of U.S. farmers want to increase funding for USDA’s voluntary conservation programs [Release]
Key Takeaways
- Partisanship remains the biggest predictor of Americans’ climate concerns, but there are also major demographic differences that partisanship doesn’t account for. A new analysis by Gallup finds that Americans’ climate concerns are much more linked to their partisanship than to any particular demographic factor, though there are some notable demographic differences that can’t be explained by partisanship alone. In particular, women and Hispanic Americans show considerably more concern about climate change than would be predicted just by their partisan leanings.
- Messaging focused on future generations continues to be particularly effective at increasing support for climate action. Following up on their “Later is Too Late” report from last year, researchers at the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (YPCC) and the Potential Energy Coalition find that multiple messages – including an “Urgency and Generational Message” that focuses on the impacts of climate change now and for future generations, a “Polluter Accountability” message that emphasizes responsibility on the part of polluting corporations, and a “Climate Progress” message that focuses on solutions to the problem – significantly increase support for climate action among an audience drawn from 23 countries. The “Urgency and Generational” message performed as the strongest overall and was also the only one of these messages to have a statistically significant impact on Americans’ support for climate action.
Good Data Points to Highlight
- [AZ] By a 77%-23% margin, Arizona voters say that the state should continue rather than repeal policies that encourage the transition to clean energy like wind and solar [American Lung Association]
- [AZ] 77% of Arizona voters agree that using more clean energy like wind and solar would create quality jobs and strengthen Arizona’s economy [American Lung Association]
- [AZ] 71% of Arizona voters agree that using more clean energy like wind and solar would save Arizona families money [American Lung Association]
- [AZ] 70% of Arizona voters agree that climate change is already having a serious impact on their part of the country [American Lung Association]
- [Farmers] 75% of U.S. agricultural producers support increasing long-term funding for USDA’s voluntary conservation programs [National Wildlife Federation]