Steady majorities of Americans recognize that global warming is happening and caused by humans, and a rising number say that they’ve personally been affected. 70% of Americans recognize that global warming is happening. 66% of Americans recognize that global warming is affecting weather in the United States. 59% of Americans recognize that global warming is caused mostly by humans. 63% of Americans disagree with the argument that it’s “too late” to do anything about global warming. 60% of Americans agree that global warming is an “economic issue”.

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including new polling on the clean energy transition, the personal impacts of climate change, climate change as an issue in the presidential race, and methane pollution + a new analysis of the ways that Americans’ climate attitudes change over time.

Voters in Southern New England widely agree that their states should work together to expand offshore wind in the region. Lower energy prices are a critical benefit to highlight. Majorities of voters in Connecticut (68%), Massachusetts (75%), and Rhode Island (67%) support their states transitioning from getting most of their heating and electricity from gas to generating heating and electricity from entirely renewable energy sources. Solar, wind, and hydropower are all overwhelmingly popular energy sources in Southern New England. Large majorities in each state favor using more solar power (78%+), hydropower (74%+), and wind power (70%+) to generate electricity. Voters in each state, including residents of coastal counties, widely back proposed tri-state collaboration to expand offshore wind in the region. Majorities of voters in Connecticut (75%), Massachusetts (77%), and Rhode Island (67%) support the three states working together to build offshore wind farms to generate electricity. Across states, there is virtually no difference in support for the proposal between residents of coastal counties (72%) and residents of non-coastal counties (74%).

There is a clear and urgent opportunity for the health sector to inform and support Americans on climate change as a matter of health. 70% of Americans have heard that climate change can affect their health. However, more Americans acknowledge the health impacts on others (69%) than themselves (46%), likely due to cognitive dissonance. Most Americans (69%) trust health professionals for climate health information and, 61% want to learn how to protect their health from adverse climate effects such as poor air quality, extreme heat, or severe storms. By disseminating accurate information and guidance across a variety of mediums (including direct conversations), the health sector can empower Americans to protect their health from climate-related risks and advocate for broader systemic changes to address climate change in inclusive, just, and equitable ways.

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including lots of new polling and research on extreme heat, polling on climate change and clean energy as issues in the 2024 election, and new polling on the American Climate Corps.

“Pro-climate voters” make up a large share of the electorate, are eager to vote, and are enthusiastic about the IRA. These “pro-climate voters” make up 37% of all registered voters nationwide, and therefore have the potential to make a big impact in the races for president and other offices this fall. Notably, an additional 25% of registered voters also prefer a candidate who supports climate action even though they do not say that global warming is a very important voting issue to them. Liberal Democrats are the group most likely to be pro-climate voters (70%), followed by urban residents (47%), Moderate/Conservative Democrats (47%), those with a Bachelor’s degree or higher (45%), and Hispanics/Latinos (43%).

Most Americans want more renewable energy, but support has dipped. Interest in electric vehicles has also declined. The shares who favor expanding solar and wind power farms are down 12 percentage points and 11 points, respectively, since 2020, driven by sharp drops in support among Republicans. Today, 29% of Americans say they would consider an EV for their next purchase, down from 38% in 2023. Still, a majority of Americans (63%) support the goal of the U.S. taking steps to become carbon neutral by 2050. When asked which is the greater priority, far more Americans continue to say the country should focus on developing renewable energy than fossil fuel sources (65% vs. 34%). A fairly modest share of U.S. adults (25%) say it’s extremely or very important to them personally to limit their own “carbon footprint.”

Voters agree that there is a role for national service programs in the fight against climate change, and continue to widely back the American Climate Corps when they learn about it. Voters support the American Climate Corps by an overwhelming 77%-16% margin when provided with a description. The ACC is particularly popular with young voters aged 18-34, with 83% supporting it. By a 53%-35% margin, voters side more with a positive argument in favor of the ACC than a negative argument against it. Young people are most attracted to the ideas of earning a living wage and making a difference in their community.

Despite partisan differences, voters widely agree that extreme weather is getting worse in the U.S. 65% of voters recognize that the impact of extreme weather events is getting worse in the U.S. While Democrats (74%) are more likely to recognize this than Republicans (56%), majorities from both parties can agree that extreme weather is getting worse for the country as a whole. A lower but still substantial percentage say that extreme weather is getting worse in their own local area. Around two in five (41%) say that the impact of extreme weather is getting worse in the community where they live, including half of Democrats (51%) but only about one-third of Republicans (32%).

Heat continues to rank as Americans’ top extreme weather concern, and voters overwhelmingly support measures to help Americans cope with it – including expanded disaster relief funding, investments in cooling infrastructure, and new requirements for landlords. 80% of voters support FEMA adding extreme heat and wildfire smoke to the list of disasters to which they respond and allocate disaster relief funding. 80% of voters support their state or municipality investing in cool roofs and cool pavements. 79% of voters support requiring landlords to provide renters with air conditioning or indoor cooling in areas that experience extreme heat events. 79% of voters support programs that specifically invest in cooling infrastructure for marginalized communities.