Climate Change in the American Mind: Beliefs & Attitudes, Fall 2025

Report Summary

This report is based on findings from a nationally representative survey – Climate Change in the American Mind – conducted jointly by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication. Interview dates: November 6–14, 2025. Interviews: 1,146 adults (18+), Average margin of error for registered voters: +/- 3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

Principal Investigators:

Anthony Leiserowitz, PhD
Yale Program on Climate Change Communication

John Kotcher, PhD
George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication

Seth Rosenthal, PhD
Yale Program on Climate Change Communication

Edward Maibach, MPH, PhD
George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication

Climate Change in the American Mind is conducted jointly by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication.

For all media and other inquiries, please email:

George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication: Edward Maibach (emaibach@gmu.edu) and John Kotcher (jkotcher@gmu.edu)

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication: Eric Fine (eric.fine@yale.edu) and Michaela Hobbs (michaela.hobbs@yale.edu)

Executive Summary

Drawing on a nationally representative survey (n = 1,146) conducted from November 6–14, 2025, this report describes Americans’¹ beliefs and attitudes about global warming. Among the key findings in this report:

Global Warming Beliefs

• Americans who think global warming is happening outnumber those who think it is not by a ratio of more than 5 to 1 (72% versus 13%).
• By a 2 to 1 margin, more Americans think global warming is mostly human-caused (58%) than mostly caused by natural changes in the environment (29%).
• By more than a 2 to 1 margin, Americans are more likely to understand that most scientists think global warming is happening (57%) than to (erroneously) believe there is a lot of disagreement among scientists about whether it is happening (23%).

Emotional Responses to Global Warming

• 64% of Americans say they are at least “somewhat worried” about global warming. This includes 29% who say they are “very worried.”
• 61% of Americans underestimate the proportion of Americans who are worried about global warming, while 7% overestimate it, and 24% “don’t know enough to say.” Only 8% correctly estimate the approximate percentage of Americans who are worried about global warming.
• Many Americans say they feel the following emotions about global warming: interested (57%), sad (48%), afraid (45%), angry (42%), hopeless (40%), or hopeful (37%).

Perceived Risks and Impacts of Global Warming

• 44% of Americans think people in the United States are being harmed by global warming “right now,” and 47% say they have personally experienced the effects of global warming.
• Majorities of Americans think global warming will harm plant and animal species (69%), future generations of people (68%), the world’s poor (64%), people in developing countries (62%), people in the United States (60%), and the health of Americans (59%). Many also think people in their community (48%), their family (48%) and they themselves (44%) will be harmed.
• 12% of Americans have considered moving to avoid the impacts of global warming.
• 64% of Americans think global warming is affecting weather in the United States, including 31% who think weather is being affected “a lot.”
• Large majorities of Americans think global warming is affecting many extreme weather events or related impacts in the United States, including extreme heat (74%), wildfires (72%), droughts (72%), hurricanes (68%), air pollution (68%), flooding (68%), water shortages (66%), water pollution (62%), electricity power outages (61%), and diseases carried by mosquitoes and ticks, such as Lyme disease and West Nile Virus (58%).

Harm from Local Environmental Problems

• Majorities of Americans say they are worried their local area might be harmed by extreme weather events or related impacts including air pollution (80%), water pollution (79%), electricity power outages (79%), diseases carried by mosquitoes and ticks, such as Lyme disease and West Nile Virus (76%), droughts (73%), extreme heat (73%), water shortages (68%), wildfires (65%), and flooding (64%), and 48% are worried about hurricanes.

Personal and Social Engagement with Global Warming

31% of Americans say they have rewarded companies that are taking steps to reduce global warming by buying their products at least “once” in the past 12 months, and 34% say that over the next 12 months they intend to buy the products of such companies more frequently than they do now. Similarly, 25% of Americans say they have punished companies that are opposing steps to reduce global warming by not buying their products at least “once” in the past 12 months, and 34% would like to do so more frequently over the next 12 months.ildren about global warming’s causes, consequences, and potential solutions.

38% of Americans say they think about global warming “a few times a month” or more often, including 6% who say they think about it every day. In contrast, 27% say they never think about global warming.

20% of Americans say they discuss global warming with family and friends “a few times a month” or more often, including only 1% who say they talk about it every day. In contrast, 44% say they never discuss global warming with family and friends.

40% of Americans say “most” or “all” of their friends share their views on global warming.

38% of Americans think it is at least “moderately” important to their family and friends that they take action to reduce global warming (an injunctive norm), and 34% say their family and friends make at least “a moderate amount of effort” to reduce global warming (a descriptive norm).

39% of Americans say they hear about global warming in the media about once a month or more frequently. Fewer say they hear about global warming on social media once a month or more often (23%) or that they hear people they know talk about global warming once a month or more frequently (14%).

59% of Americans say the issue of global warming is “extremely,” “very,” or “somewhat” important to them personally, while 41% say it is “not too” or “not at all” personally important.

59% of Americans feel a personal sense of responsibility to help reduce global warming.

¹ Throughout this report, we use the term “Americans” to refer to adults (18+) who reside in the United States (the 50 states plus the District of Columbia).

1. Global Warming Beliefs

1.1 Most Americans think global warming is happening.

Americans who think global warming is happening outnumber those who think it is not by a ratio of more than 5 to 1.

About seven in ten Americans (72%) think global warming is happening. By contrast, only 13% of Americans think global warming is not happening. Additionally, 15% say they don’t know if global warming is happening (refer to data tables, p. 29).

1.2 When Americans who “don’t know” if global warming is happening are asked for their best guess, more say “yes” than “no.”

Survey respondents who say they “don’t know” whether global warming is happening are then asked to provide their best guess as to whether or not global warming is happening. Over time, this follow-up question has produced a relatively stable pattern in which more of these Americans “lean” toward “yes” than “no” (refer to data tables, p. 30).

When the “leaners,” as determined by this follow-up question, are added to the totals of those who responded “yes” or “no” to the question reported in Section 1.1, we find that a total of 81% of Americans think global warming is happening or lean toward that position, while 19% think global warming is not happening or lean toward that position.

1.3 More than half of Americans are “extremely” or “very” sure global warming is happening.

More than half of Americans (54%) are either “extremely” (31%) or “very” (23%) sure global warming is happening (refer to data tables, p. 31). Far fewer (8%) are “extremely” (3%) or “very” (5%) sure global warming is not happening (refer to data tables, p. 32).

1.4 A majority of Americans think global warming is mostly human-caused.

A 2023 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which summarizes all of the world’s peer-reviewed scientific studies on climate change, concluded that “Human activities, principally through emissions of greenhouse gases, have unequivocally caused global warming.”¹

A majority of Americans (58%) understand that global warming is mostly human-caused. By contrast, 29% think it is caused mostly by natural changes in the environment.

¹ IPCC. (2023). Summary for Policymakers. In Core Writing Team, Lee, H., & Romero, J. (eds.). Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland. doi: 10.59327/IPCC/AR6-9789291691647.001

1.5 A majority of Americans understand that most scientists think global warming is happening.

A review by Cook and colleagues² found that six independent, peer-reviewed studies examining the scientific consensus about global warming have concluded that between 90% and 100% of climate scientists are convinced human-caused global warming is happening. A more recent study found that as many as 98% of climate scientists are convinced global warming is happening and human-caused.³

A majority of Americans (57%) understand that most scientists think global warming is happening. By contrast, 23% think there is a lot of disagreement among scientists about whether or not global warming is happening. Very few Americans (3%) say most scientists think global warming is not happening, and 18% report that they don’t know enough to say (refer to data tables, p. 35).

² Cook, J., Oreskes, N., Doran, P. T., Anderegg, W. R. I., Verheggen, B., Maibach, E. W., Carlton, J. S., Lewandowsky, S., Skuce, A. G., Green, S. A., Nuccitelli, D., Jacobs, P., Richardson, M., Winkler, B., Painting, R., & Rice., K. (2016). Consensus on consensus: A synthesis of consensus estimates on human-caused global warming. Environmental Research Letters, 11(4). doi:10.1088/1748-9326/11/4/048002

³ Myers, K. F., Doran, P. T., Cook, J., Kotcher, J. E., & Myers, T. A. (2021). Consensus revisited: Quantifying scientific agreement on climate change and climate expertise among Earth scientists 10 years later. Environmental Research Letters, 16(10). doi:10.1088/1748-9326/ac2774

2. Perceived Risks of Global Warming

2.1 Many Americans say they have personally experienced the effects of global warming.

Many Americans (47%) agree with the statement “I have personally experienced the effects of global warming,” while about half (52%) disagree.

2.2 Many Americans think people in the U.S. are being harmed “right now” by global warming.

More than four in ten Americans (44%) think people in the U.S. are being harmed by global warming “right now.”

2.3 Many Americans think global warming will harm them, but more think others will be harmed.

A majority of Americans understand that global warming will cause harm. Half or more Americans think global warming will cause either “a great deal” or “a moderate amount” of harm to plant and animal species (69%), future generations of people (68%), the world’s poor (64%), people in developing countries (62%), people in the United States (60%), and the health of Americans (59%). Many Americans also think people in their community (48%), their family (48%), and they themselves (44%) will be harmed.

2.4 About one in eight Americans have considered moving to avoid the impacts of global warming.

Climate change is increasingly causing impacts that could lead people to consider relocating. These include rising sea levels,¹ floods, wildfires, droughts, and extreme heat. We find that 12% of Americans have considered moving to avoid the impacts of global warming, while 81% have not, and 7% are not sure.

¹ Hauer, M. E. (2017). Migration induced by sea-level rise could reshape the US population landscape. Nature Climate Change, 7(5), 321-325. doi:10.1038/nclimate3271

3. Emotional Responses to Global Warming

3.1 A majority of Americans are worried about global warming.

A majority of Americans (64%) say they are at least “somewhat worried” about global warming. This includes 29% who say they are “very worried.”

3.2 Most Americans underestimate how worried the American public is about global warming.

Pluralistic ignorance – the widespread misperception of public opinion about an issue¹ – can affect the importance people place on that issue and their subsequent behavior.²

As described in section 3.1, 64% of Americans are at least “somewhat worried” about global warming (this percentage has ranged from about 61% to 70% over the last few years). However, most Americans underestimate how worried the American public is about global warming.³ Only 8% of Americans accurately estimate the percentage of Americans who are worried about global warming. A majority of Americans (61%) underestimate this percentage and an additional 24% indicate that they “don’t know enough to say.” In contrast, only 7% overestimate the percentage of Americans who are worried about global warming.

¹ Prentice, D. A., & Miller, D. T. (1993). Pluralistic ignorance and alcohol use on campus: Some consequences of misperceiving the social norm. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64(2), 243-256. doi;10.1037/0022-3514.64.2.243

² Bolsen, T., Leeper, T. J., & Shapiro, M. A. (2014). Doing what others do: Norms, science, and collective action on global warming. American Politics Research, 42(1), 65-89. doi.org/10.1177/1532673X134841

³ Respondents were asked: “To the best of your knowledge, what percentage of adults in the United States (18 years or older) are worried about global warming?” They estimated the percentage by moving a slider bar that appeared on the screen of their computer. This slider allowed respondents to move the marker from 0% on the left to 100% on the right, or to any whole number between the two. A “don’t know enough to say” response option appeared below the slider bar.

3.3 A majority of Americans are “interested” in global warming.

When asked how strongly they feel various emotions when thinking about global warming, more than half of Americans (57%) say they feel “very” or “moderately” interested. Additionally, many say they feel sad (48%), afraid (45%; 6 percentage points higher than when we last asked this question in Spring 2025; refer to data tables, p. 52), angry (42%), hopeless (40%; +6 percentage points from Spring 2025; refer to data tables, p. 53), or hopeful (37%).

4. Personal and Social Engagement with Global Warming

4.1 Most Americans do not think about or discuss global warming frequently.

About four in ten Americans (38%) say they think about global warming either “every day” (6%), “a few times a week” (13%), or “a few times a month” (19%). One in five (20%) say they discuss global warming with family and friends either “every day” (1%), “a few times a week” (5%), or “a few times a month” (15%).

The majority of Americans say they think about global warming only “a few times a year” (36%) or “never” (27%) and a larger majority say they discuss global warming either “a few times a year” (36%) or “never” (44%).

4.2 About six in ten Americans say at least some of their friends share their views on global warming.

About six in ten Americans (61%) say “all” (10%), “most” (30%), or “some” (21%) of their friends share their views on global warming. Fewer say only “a few” (20%), or “none” (19%) of their friends share their views.

4.3 Fewer than half of Americans perceive social norms for taking action on global warming.

Social science research has shown that two types of social norms can have a powerful influence on people’s behavior: injunctive norms (the belief that friends and family expect you to behave in a given way) and descriptive norms (the belief that friends and family are themselves behaving in that way).¹

More than one-third of Americans (38%) perceive an injunctive norm, saying it is either “extremely” (3%), “very” (11%), or “moderately” (24%) important to their family and friends that they take action to reduce global warming. Similarly, 34% perceive a descriptive norm, saying their family and friends make either “a great deal of effort” (2%), “a lot of effort” (8%), or “a moderate amount of effort” (23%) to reduce global warming.

¹ Schultz, P. W., Nolan, J. M., Cialdini, R. B., Goldstein, N. J., & Griskevicius, V. (2007). The constructive, destructive, and reconstructive power of social norms. Psychological Science, 18(5), 429-434. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.01917.x

4.4 Relatively few Americans hear about global warming in the media at least once a month; even fewer hear about it on social media or hear people they know talking about it.

Relatively few Americans (39%) say they hear about global warming in the media once a month or more often, while 53% say they hear about global warming in the media several times a year or less often.

Additionally, only 23% of Americans say they hear about global warming on social media once a month or more often, while 64% say they do so several times a year or less often, including 33% who say they never hear about global warming on social media. Similarly, only 14% of Americans say they hear people they know talk about global warming once a month or more often, while 80% say they do so several times a year or less often, including 33% who say they never hear people they know talk about global warming.

4.5 A majority of Americans say the issue of global warming is personally important to them.

A majority of Americans (59%) say the issue of global warming is either “extremely” (12%), “very” (19%), or “somewhat” (29%) important to them personally (refer to data tables, p. 66). This is five percentage points lower than the last time we asked this question in Spring 2025, and the lowest it has been in 10 years.

Fewer Americans (41%; +5 percentage points since Spring 2025) say global warming is either “not too” (18%) or “not at all” (22%) personally important.

4.6 A majority of Americans feel a personal sense of responsibility to help reduce global warming.

A majority of Americans (59%) agree either “strongly” (20%) or “somewhat” (39%) that they feel a personal sense of responsibility to help reduce global warming.

4.7 About three in ten Americans say they have engaged in consumer activism on global warming.

About three in ten Americans (31%) say that at least “once” over the past 12 months, they have rewarded companies that are taking steps to reduce global warming by buying their products. About one-quarter (26%) say that at least “once” over the past 12 months, they have punished companies that are opposing steps to reduce global warming by not buying their products.

4.8 About one in three of Americans intend to engage in consumer activism on global warming more in the next 12 months.

About one in three Americans (34%) say that, over the next 12 months, they would like to punish companies that are opposing steps to reduce global warming by not buying their products more frequently than they are now. The same percentage (34%) say they intend to buy the products of companies that are taking steps to reduce global warming more frequently than they do now.

5. Impacts of Global Warming

5.1 A majority of Americans think global warming is affecting weather in the United States.

A majority of Americans (64%) think global warming is affecting weather in the United States, including many who think global warming is affecting U.S. weather either “a lot” (31%) or “some” (25%).

As noted above, 31% of Americans think global warming is affecting weather “a lot,” which is about the average percentage over the past eight years.

5.2 Most Americans think global warming is affecting extreme weather events or related impacts in the United States.

Most Americans think global warming is affecting many extreme weather events or related impacts in the United States at least “a little.” Seven in ten or more think global warming is affecting extreme heat (74%), wildfires (72%), and droughts (72%). Six in ten or more think global warming is affecting hurricanes (68%), air pollution (68%), flooding (68%), water shortages (66%), water pollution (62%), and electricity power outages (61%), and more than half think it is affecting diseases carried by mosquitoes and ticks, such as Lyme disease and West Nile Virus (58%).

5.3 A majority of Americans are worried about harm from extreme weather events or related impacts in their local area.

As described in Section 5.2, most Americans think global warming already affects extreme weather events or related impacts in the United States. This section details how worried Americans are that each of these events or impacts will harm their local area in the future. Half or more Americans are at least “a little worried” their local area might be harmed by air pollution (80%), water pollution (79%), electricity power outages (79%; eight percentage points higher than when we last asked this question in Spring 2025), diseases carried by mosquitoes and ticks, such as Lyme disease and West Nile Virus (76%), droughts (73%), extreme heat (73%), water shortages (68%), wildfires (65%), and flooding (64%). Forty-eight percent of Americans are at least “a little worried” that hurricanes will harm their local area.

Appendix I: Data Tables

Data Tables can be found beginning on p. 29 of the PDF version of the report:

Appendix II: Survey Method

The data in this report are based on a nationally representative survey of 1,146 American adults, aged 18 and older. The survey was conducted November 6–14, 2025. All questionnaires were self-administered by respondents in a web-based environment. The median completion time for the survey was 21 minutes.

The sample was drawn from the Ipsos KnowledgePanel®, an online panel of members drawn using probability sampling methods. Prospective members are recruited using a combination of random digit dial and address-based sampling techniques that cover virtually all (non-institutional) resident phone numbers and addresses in the United States. Those contacted who would choose to join the panel but do not have access to the Internet are loaned computers and provided Internet access so they may participate.

The sample therefore includes a representative cross-section of American adults – irrespective of whether they have Internet access, use only a cell phone, etc. Key demographic variables were weighted, post survey, to match US Census Bureau norms.

From November 2008 to December 2018, no KnowledgePanel® member participated in more than one Climate Change in the American Mind (CCAM) survey. Beginning with the April 2019 survey, panel members who have participated in CCAM surveys in the past, excluding the most recent two surveys, may be randomly selected for participation. In the current survey, 308 respondents participated in a previous CCAM survey.

The survey instrument was designed by Anthony Leiserowitz, Seth Rosenthal, Jennifer Carman, Marija Verner, Emily Richards, Matthew Goldberg, and Jennifer Marlon of Yale University, and John Kotcher, Edward Maibach, Teresa Myers, Joshua Ettinger, and Julia Fine of George Mason University. The figures and tables were constructed by Emily Goddard of Yale University.

Sample details and margins of error

All samples are subject to some degree of sampling error – that is, statistical results obtained from a sample can be expected to differ somewhat from results that would be obtained if every member of the target population were interviewed. Average margins of error for each wave of CCAM, at the 95% confidence level, are plus or minus 3 percentage points except where noted.

• November 2025: Fielded November 4–16 (n = 1,146)
• May 2025: Fielded May 1–12 (n = 1,040)
• December 2024: Fielded December 11–22 (n = 1,013)
• April 2024: Fielded April 25 – May 4 (n = 1,031)
• October 2023: Fielded October 20–26 (n = 1,033)
• April 2023: Fielded April 18 – May 1 (n = 1,011)
• December 2022: Fielded December 2–12 (n = 1,085)
• April 2022: Fielded April 13 – May 2 (n = 1,018)
• September 2021: Fielded September 10–20 (n = 1,006)
• March 2021: Fielded March 18–29 (n = 1,037)
• December 2020: Fielded December 3–16 (n = 1,036)
• April 2020: Fielded April 7–17 (n = 1,029)
• November 2019: Fielded November 8–20 (n = 1,303)
• April 2019: Fielded March 29 – April 8 (n = 1,291)
• December 2018: Fielded November 28 – December 11 (n = 1,114)
• March 2018: Fielded March 7–24 (n = 1,278)
• October 2017: Fielded October 20 – November 1 (n = 1,304)
• May 2017: Fielded May 18 – June 6 (n = 1,266)
• November 2016: Fielded November 18 – December 1 (n = 1,226)
• March 2016: Fielded March 18–31 (n = 1,204)
• October 2015: Fielded September 30 – October 19 (n = 1,330)
• March 2015: Fielded February 27 – March 10 (n = 1,263)
• October 2014: Fielded October 17–28 (n = 1,275)
• April 2014: Fielded April 15–22 (n = 1,013)
• November 2013: Fielded November 23 – December 9 (n = 830)
• April 2013: Fielded April 10–15 (n = 1,045)
• September 2012: Fielded August 31 – September 12 (n = 1,061)
• March 2012: Fielded March 12–30 (n = 1,008)
• November 2011: Fielded October 20 – November 16 (n = 1,000)
• May 2011: Fielded April 23 – May 12 (n = 1,010)
• June 2010: Fielded May 14 – June 1 (n = 1,024)
• January 2010: Fielded December 24, 2009 – January 3, 2010 (n = 1,001).
• November 2008: Fielded October 7 – November 12 (n = 2,164).
  • Data were collected over two periods: from October 7–20 and from October 24 – November 12. Margin of error plus or minus 2 percentage points.

Rounding error and tabulation
In data tables, bases specified are unweighted, while percentages are weighted to match national population parameters.

For tabulation purposes, percentage points are rounded to the nearest whole number. As a result, percentages in a given figure or table may total slightly higher or lower than 100%. Summed response categories (e.g., “strongly agree” + “somewhat agree”) are rounded after sums are calculated. For example, in some cases, the sum of 25% + 25% might be reported as 51% (e.g., 25.3% + 25.3% = 50.6%, which after rounding would be reported as 25% + 25% = 51%).

Appendix III: Sample Demographics

Sample demographics can be found on p. 96 of the PDF version of the report:

Citation

Leiserowitz, A., Kotcher, J., Rosenthal, S., Goddard, E., Carman, J., Verner, M., Myers, T., Ettinger, J., Fine, J., Richards, E., Goldberg, M., Marlon, J., & Maibach, E. (2026). Climate Change in the American Mind: Beliefs & Attitudes, Fall 2025. Yale University and George Mason University. New Haven, CT: Yale Program on Climate Change Communication.

Funding Sources

The research was funded by the Schmidt Family Foundation, the U.S. Energy Foundation, the Heising-Simons Foundation, King Philanthropies, the Grantham Foundation, and the MacArthur Foundation.