This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including new polling on utility costs, Trump’s handling of energy costs and other energy and environmental issues, climate change impacts, and federal funding cuts.

Most voters say that the U.S. is already feeling the effects of climate change, and two-thirds expect their area to be impacted. 56% of voters recognize that the U.S. has already started experiencing the effects of climate change, and only 15% believe that the U.S. won’t be impacted in the future. An additional 10% expect that the U.S. will start feeling the effects of climate change in the next 5-10 years, and an additional 12% expect that the U.S. will feel the effects 10+ years from now. Only 15% of voters believe that the U.S. will not experience the effects of climate change on any timeframe. Majorities of Democrats (72%) and independents (58%) agree that the U.S. is being impacted by climate change right now, as do a plurality of Republicans (39%). And while less than half of Republicans say that the U.S. is currently being impacted, only around one-quarter of Republicans (27%) say that the country won’t be impacted in the future. The large majority of voters expect that their own area will be impacted by climate change. Around two-thirds of voters (68%), including large majorities of Democrats (85%) and independents (73%) as well as half of Republicans (50%), believe that climate change will at least “somewhat” affect their own area.

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including new polling on extreme weather, clean water, EVs, and voters’ perceptions about the costs of different energy sources.

A rising share of Americans report experience with extreme weather, as nearly two in five say that they’ve been affected in the past two years. 37% of Americans now say that they were personally impacted by an extreme weather event where they live in the past two years, an increase from 33% in previous Gallup polls from 2022 and 2023. Americans living in the South (49%) and West (43%) are considerably more likely to say that they’ve personally been impacted by extreme weather in recent years than those living in the Midwest (26%) or East (21%). In an open-ended question, more Americans said that they were impacted by hurricanes specifically (12%) than any other type of extreme weather. Those living in the South (28%) were the most likely to say that they’d been impacted by hurricanes, while Americans in the West were more likely to name experiences with wildfires (17%) than any other type of extreme weather and those in the Midwest (10%) were most likely to say that they’d been impacted by tornadoes.

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including new polling on Trump’s handling of costs and energy issues, new polling on energy efficiency, and new polling about extreme weather and its impacts on the home insurance market.

The Guardian has recreated a searchable climate future risk tool developed by FEMA, which was later deleted. It was the first free, localized resource showing how much climate change impacts will cost American communities. Drawing data from across federal government agencies, the index has county-by-county information on projected annual losses this century from threats including extreme heat, coastal flooding, wildfires, hurricanes and drought, all of which are worsened by human-caused global heating. Each county was also given an overall risk rating, which ranked how vulnerable its particular population is to climate shocks. Such information is crucial for planning by local governments, insurers, utilities and others that look to FEMA to help contend with a growing list of disasters now affecting American communities.

Voters say that climate change is contributing to the rise in home insurance costs. While voters have overwhelmingly positive attitudes about clean energy companies, oil and gas companies are underwater. 65% of voters have favorable attitudes about the clean energy industry, compared to just 21% who feel unfavorably about it. 72% of voters say that the increase in climate change-fueled extreme weather events is at least “somewhat” responsible for recent changes in the home insurance sector, including spikes in home insurance rates and insurance companies leaving state insurance markets. Around two-thirds of voters (67%), including majorities of Democrats (82%), independents (61%), and Republicans (56%), say that they are at least “somewhat” concerned about future increases in the frequency of extreme weather events. Additionally, nearly four in five voters (78%) – including large majorities of Democrats (81%), independents (75%), and Republicans (76%) – are at least “somewhat” concerned about future increases in the price of property insurance.

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including new polling on federal funding cuts, the Trump administration’s early actions on energy and the environment, and Americans’ concerns about climate change and extreme weather.

Trump’s early actions on climate change and clean energy are unpopular; Americans particularly disapprove of halting wind energy projects, as they believe that stopping clean energy projects will hurt job growth. 57% of Americans oppose the Trump administration’s action to halt new wind energy projects. 57% of Americans agree that the Trump administration will hurt job growth by stopping clean energy projects. 61% of Americans agree that the Trump administration’s plan to increase oil and gas drilling will harm air and water quality. 60% of Americans agree that the Trump administration’s plan to increase oil and gas drilling will increase pollution and harm people’s health. Independents oppose the halting of wind energy projects by a 22-point margin (39% support / 61% oppose), oppose the IRA funding pause by a 20-point margin (40% support / 60% oppose), and oppose the Paris Agreement withdrawal by a 12-point margin (44% support / 56% oppose).

Majorities of Americans continue to say that they’ve been impacted by extreme weather and that climate change was a factor behind it, and most are concerned that climate change will increase property insurance premiums. 72% of Americans recognize that climate change is happening. 72% of Americans who self-report experience with extreme weather in recent years say that climate change was a cause. While Democrats (89%) and independents (72%) overwhelmingly attribute their experiences with extreme weather to climate change, Republicans are more split (43% climate change was a cause / 55% climate change was not a cause). Most also believe that climate change will have a major impact on their lives in specific ways, such as affecting the air quality where they live (65%), their personal health (56%), and the availability of water in their area (55%). Majorities say that they’re either “extremely” or “very” concerned that climate change will increase property insurance premiums for households (59%) and increase energy costs for households (55%).