Climate Change in the American Mind: Politics and Policy, Spring 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: May 1 -12, 2025. Interviews: 1,040 adults (18+), 915 of whom are registered to vote. 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

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

Seth Rosenthal, PhD
Yale Program on Climate Change Communication

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

For all media and other inquiries, please email:

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

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

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.

Executive Summary

Drawing on a representative sample of the U.S. adult population (n = 1,040; including the 915 registered voters whose data are used in this report), these findings describe how registered voters view a variety of domestic climate and energy policies. The survey was fielded from May 1 – 12, 2025.

This executive summary presents the results for all registered voters, while the main text of the report also breaks the results down by political party and ideology.

Global Warming and Clean Energy as Government Priorities

• 52% of registered voters think global warming should be a high or very high priority for the president and Congress.
• 64% of registered voters think developing sources of clean energy should be a high or very high priority for the president and Congress.

Policies to Reduce the Pollution that Causes Global Warming

Majorities of registered voters support a range of policies to reduce carbon pollution and promote clean energy. These include:

• 88% support federal funding to help farmers improve practices to protect and restore the soil so it absorbs and stores more carbon.
• 80% support funding more research into renewable energy sources.
• 75% support regulating carbon dioxide as a pollutant.
• 71% support tax credits or rebates to encourage people to buy electric appliances, such as heat pumps and induction stoves.
• 67% support transitioning the U.S. economy from fossil fuels to 100% clean energy by 2050.
• 63% support requiring fossil fuel companies to pay for the damages caused by global warming.

Energy Production

• 76% of registered voters support generating renewable energy on public land in the U.S.
• 49% support expanding offshore drilling for oil and natural gas off the U.S. coast.
• 44% support drilling and mining fossil fuels on public land in the U.S.
• 30% support drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Clean Energy Infrastructure

Many registered voters support building clean energy infrastructure in their local area. These include:

• Solar farms (59%).
• Wind farms (56%).
• High-voltage power lines to distribute clean energy (51%),
• Electric vehicle charging stations (49%).
• Nuclear power plants (38%).

Strengthening pollution enforcement

• 79% of registered voters support strengthening enforcement of industrial pollution limits in low-income communities and communities of color that are disproportionately impacted by air and water pollution.

Eliminating global warming programs

• 79% of registered voters oppose ordering all federal agencies to stop doing research on global warming.
• 78% oppose ordering all federal agencies to stop providing information about global warming to the public.
• 75% oppose eliminating the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
• 63% oppose prohibiting construction of new offshore wind farms.

The Foreign Pollution Fee Act

The Foreign Pollution Fee Act, proposed by Republican members of the U.S. Senate, proposes to impose a fee on products imported into the United States based on the amount of carbon pollution produced in their creation. The Act would hold major polluters like China accountable and boost U.S. companies, which have higher environmental standards.

• Few registered voters have heard of this proposed bill: Only 3% of registered voters have heard either “a lot” or “a moderate amount” about it.
• After reading a short description of the Foreign Pollution Fee Act, 81% of registered voters said they support the proposal.

The Paris Climate Agreement

• 79% of registered voters support U.S. participation in the Paris Climate Agreement.
• 65% oppose President Trump’s decision to pull the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Agreement.

Energy Production as an Economic Issue

• 48% of registered voters think policies that promote clean energy will improve economic growth and provide new jobs, while 29% think clean energy policies will reduce economic growth and cost jobs.

Transitioning from Fossil Fuels to Clean Energy

• 74% of registered voters say the U.S. should use more renewable energy than it does today and 57% say the U.S. should use less fossil fuels than it does today.

Who Should Act?

• Half or more of registered voters say the following parties should do more to address global warming: Corporations and industry (70%), the U.S. Congress (64%), citizens themselves (62%), the Republican Party (62%), President Trump (60%), local government officials (56%), the Democratic Party (56%), their governor (55%), and the media (54%). About half (48%) say they themselves should do more.

Political Advocacy

• 2% of registered voters say they are currently participating in a campaign to convince elected officials to take action to reduce global warming, while 13% say they would “definitely” join such a campaign and 20% would “probably” join one.
• 56% of registered voters say they would sign a petition about global warming if asked by a person they like and respect. Additionally, 34% would donate money to an organization working on global warming, 33% would contact government officials about global warming, 32% would volunteer their time to an organization working on global warming, and 27% would meet with an elected official or their staff about global warming if asked.
• 27% say they would support an organization engaging in non-violent civil disobedience against corporate or government activities that make global warming worse, 14% say they would personally engage in non-violent civil disobedience, and 3% say they would be willing to get arrested as part of such an action.
• 15% say they have signed a petition about global warming in the past year, 13% say they have donated money to an organization working on global warming, and 5% have volunteered their time to such an organization.
• 8% of registered voters have contacted government officials in the past year to urge them to take action to reduce global warming.

Barriers to Political Advocacy

• 80% of registered voters say nobody has ever asked them to contact officials about global warming. Additionally, 67% say contacting elected officials about global warming wouldn’t make any difference, 63% say they do not contact elected officials about global warming because they are not an activist, 62% say they don’t know which elected officials to contact, 54% wouldn’t know what to say, 52% would feel uncomfortable doing so, 48% say they are too busy, 47% say it’s too much effort, 42% say it’s not important, 38% are concerned about attracting unwanted attention from government authorities, 27% are already taking other actions, and 17% say people will make fun of them or criticize them if they contact elected officials about global warming.

Openness to Information

• 35% of registered voters say they need more information in order to form a firm opinion about global warming.
• 28% say they could easily change their mind about global warming.

Collective Efficacy

• 40% of registered voters are at least “moderately confident” that people like them, working together, can affect what the federal government does about global warming, and 40% are confident that they can affect what corporations do about global warming.

Educating Students About Global Warming

• 78% of registered voters say schools should teach children about global warming’s causes, consequences, and potential solutions.

1. Global Warming and Clean Energy as Government Priorities

1.1 About half of registered voters think global warming should be a “high” or “very high” priority for the president and Congress.

About half of registered voters (52%) think global warming should be a high or very high priority for the president and Congress. This includes large majorities of liberal Democrats (91%) and moderate/conservative Democrats (76%). About one in five liberal/moderate Republicans (22%) think global warming should be a high or very high priority (a decrease of 14 percentage points since we last asked this question in Fall 2024, just after the November 2024 presidential election). Few conservative Republicans (12%) think global warming should be a priority.

1.2 Most registered voters think developing sources of clean energy should be a “high” or “very high” priority for the president and Congress.

About six in ten registered voters (64%) think developing sources of clean energy should be a high or very high priority for the president and Congress. This includes large majorities of liberal Democrats (93%) and moderate/conservative Democrats (79%). About four in ten liberal/moderate Republicans (39%) think developing sources of clean energy should be a high or very high priority, as do about one-third of conservative Republicans (35%; +9 percentage points since we last asked this question in Fall 2024).

2. Support for Policies to Reduce the Pollution that Causes Global Warming

2.1 Most registered voters support climate-friendly policies.

Registered voters across the political spectrum support many policies designed to reduce carbon pollution and fossil fuel dependence and promote clean energy, including:

• Providing federal funding to help farmers improve practices to protect and restore the soil so it absorbs and stores more carbon: 88% of registered voters, including 96% of liberal Democrats, 94% of moderate/conservative Democrats, 83% of liberal/moderate Republicans, and 78% of conservative Republicans.
• Funding more research into renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power: 80% of registered voters, including 96% of liberal Democrats, 94% of moderate/conservative Democrats, 74% of liberal/moderate Republicans, and 55% of conservative Republicans.
• Regulating carbon dioxide (the primary greenhouse gas) as a pollutant: 75% of registered voters, including 95% of liberal Democrats, 90% of moderate/conservative Democrats, 66% of liberal/moderate Republicans, and 50% of conservative Republicans.
• Providing tax credits or rebates to encourage people to buy electric appliances, such as heat pumps and induction stoves, that run on electricity instead of oil or gas: 71% of registered voters, including 94% of liberal Democrats, 83% of moderate/conservative Democrats, 66% of liberal/moderate Republicans, and 45% of conservative Republicans.
• Transitioning the U.S. economy (including electric utilities, transportation, buildings, and industry) from fossil fuels to 100% clean energy by 2050: 67% of registered voters, including 95% of liberal Democrats, 86% of moderate/conservative Democrats, 50% of liberal/moderate Republicans, and 31% of conservative Republicans.
• Requiring fossil fuel companies (coal, oil, and natural gas) to pay for the damages caused by global warming: 63% of registered voters, including 92% of liberal Democrats, 82% of moderate/conservative Democrats, 45% of liberal/moderate Republicans, and 30% of conservative Republicans.

2.2 A large majority of registered voters support generating renewable energy on public land.

A large majority of registered voters (76%) support generating renewable energy (solar and wind) on public land in the United States. This includes a large majority of liberal Democrats (91%) and moderate/conservative Democrats (92%) as well as a majority of liberal/moderate Republicans (67%) and half of conservative Republicans (50%).

Fewer registered voters support fossil-fuel production in the United States, including:

• Expanding offshore drilling for oil and natural gas off the U.S. coast: 49% of registered voters, including 79% of conservative Republicans, 77% of liberal/moderate Republicans, 34% of moderate/conservative Democrats, and 18% of liberal Democrats.
• Drilling for and mining fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) on public land in the U.S.: 44% of registered voters, including 75% of conservative Republicans, 65% of liberal/moderate Republicans, 30% of moderate/conservative Democrats, and 13% of liberal Democrats.
• Drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: 30% of registered voters, including 60% of conservative Republicans, 38% of liberal/moderate Republicans, 17% of moderate/conservative Democrats, and 7% of liberal Democrats.

2.3 A majority of registered voters support building clean energy infrastructure in their local area.

About half or more of registered voters support climate-friendly energy production and distribution infrastructure in their local area, including solar farms (59%), wind farms (56%), and high-voltage power lines to distribute clean energy (51%), and electric vehicle charging stations (49%). These include majorities of liberal Democrats and moderate/conservative Democrats, and many liberal/moderate Republicans, but fewer conservative Republicans:

• Solar farms: liberal Democrats, 86%; moderate/conservative Democrats, 66%; liberal/moderate Republicans, 57%; conservative Republicans, 34%.
• Wind farms: liberal Democrats, 83%; moderate/conservative Democrats, 70%; liberal/moderate Republicans, 47%; conservative Republicans, 27%.
• High-voltage power lines to distribute clean energy: liberal Democrats, 65%; moderate/conservative Democrats, 52%; liberal/moderate Republicans, 53%; conservative Republicans, 41%.
• Electric vehicle charging stations: liberal Democrats, 80%; moderate/conservative Democrats, 60%; liberal/moderate Republicans, 42%; conservative Republicans, 22%.

Fewer registered voters support building nuclear power plants in their local area (38%), including 50% of conservative Republicans, 45% of liberal/moderate Republicans, 38% of liberal Democrats, and 27% of moderate/conservative Democrats.

2.4 A large majority of registered voters support strengthening enforcement of industrial pollution limits in disproportionately impacted communities.

A large majority of registered voters across the political spectrum (79%) support strengthening enforcement of industrial pollution limits in low-income communities and communities of color that are disproportionately impacted by air and water pollution. This includes 97% of liberal Democrats, 89% of moderate/conservative Democrats, 72% of liberal/moderate Republicans, and 58% of conservative Republicans (+11 percentage points since we last asked this question in Fall 2024).

2.5 A large majority of registered voters oppose eliminating programs related to global warming.

A large majority of registered voters oppose eliminating programs related to global warming, including:

• Ordering all federal agencies (such as NASA, NOAA, and the EPA) to stop doing research on global warming: 79% of registered voters, including 98% of liberal Democrats, 89% of moderate/conservative Democrats, 73% of liberal/moderate Republicans, and 56% of conservative Republicans.
• Ordering all federal agencies (such as NASA, NOAA, and the EPA) to stop providing information about global warming to the public: 78% of registered voters, including 96% of liberal Democrats, 87% of moderate/conservative Democrats, 69% of liberal/moderate Republicans, and 58% of conservative Republicans.
• Eliminating the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA): 75% of registered voters, including 98% of liberal Democrats, 88% of moderate/conservative Democrats, 66% of liberal/moderate Republicans, and 47% of conservative Republicans.
• Prohibiting the construction of new offshore wind farms: 63% of registered voters, including 82% of liberal Democrats, 66% of moderate/conservative Democrats, 57% of liberal/moderate Republicans, and 46% of conservative Republicans.

3. The Foreign Pollution Fee Act

3.1 Few registered voters have heard about the Foreign Pollution Fee Act.

The Foreign Pollution Fee Act, proposed by Republican members of the U.S. Senate, would impose a fee on products imported into the United States based on the amount of carbon pollution produced in their creation. The Act would hold major polluters like China accountable and boost U.S. companies, which have higher environmental standards.

Few registered voters (3%) have heard either “a lot” or “a moderate amount” about the Act, including 4% of liberal Democrats, 3% of moderate/conservative Democrats, and 2% of both liberal/moderate and conservative Republicans.

3.2 After reading a brief description of the Foreign Pollution Fee Act, most registered voters support the proposal.

After reading a brief description of the Foreign Pollution Fee Act, a large majority of registered voters across the political spectrum (81%) say they support it (28% “strongly support” and 53% “somewhat support”; refer to data tables, p. 46). This includes large majorities of liberal Democrats (89%), moderate/conservative Democrats (81%), liberal/moderate Republicans (79%), and conservative Republicans (76%).

4. The Paris Climate Agreement

4.1 There is bipartisan support for continued U.S. participation in the Paris Climate Agreement.

In December 2015, officials from 196 countries (nearly every country in the world) met in Paris at the United Nations Climate Change Conference and negotiated a global agreement to limit global warming. On Earth Day, April 2016, the United States and 174 other countries signed the agreement, with all of the other countries soon following suit. However, during President Trump’s first term, the United States withdrew from the agreement. The United States then rejoined the agreement soon after President Biden’s inauguration in 2021. On the day of his second inauguration, January 20, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order to begin withdrawing the United States from the agreement again.

Large majorities of registered voters support U.S. participation in the Paris Climate Agreement (79%) and oppose President Trump’s decision to pull the U.S. out of the Agreement (65%). This includes nearly all liberal Democrats (99% support U.S. participation and 97% oppose the U.S. pulling out) and moderate/conservative Democrats (96% and 89%, respectively). Among liberal/moderate Republicans, 74% support U.S. participation in the Paris Climate Agreement, but only 42% oppose President Trump’s decision to pull the U.S. out. Similarly, 48% of conservative Republicans support U.S. participation, but only 23% oppose President Trump’s decision.

5. Energy Production as an Economic Issue

5.1 About half of registered voters think policies intended to transition away from fossil fuels and toward clean energy will improve economic growth and provide new jobs.

About half of registered voters (48%; +6 percentage points since we last asked this question in Fall 2024) think policies intended to transition away from fossil fuels and toward clean energy will improve economic growth and provide new jobs, while 29% (-6 percentage points) think they will have the opposite effect, reducing economic growth and costing jobs, and 21% think they will have no impact either way.¹

Opinion is sharply divided along political lines; majorities of liberal Democrats (84%) and moderate/conservative Democrats (60%) think clean energy policies will have a positive impact on the economy and jobs. By contrast, more liberal/moderate Republicans think such policies will have a negative impact (36%) than a positive impact (30%), and 58% of conservative Republicans think the policies will have a negative impact (12 percentage points lower than in Fall 2024, when 70% thought so), while only 17% think they will have a positive effect.

¹The full text of the survey item and response categories are: Please indicate which one of these statements comes closest to your own views – even if it is not exactly right: Overall, government policies intended to transition away from fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas) and toward clean energy (solar, wind) will… (a) Improve economic growth and provide new jobs; (b) Have no impact on economic growth or jobs; (c) Reduce economic growth and cost jobs.

6. Support for Transitioning from Fossil Fuels to Clean Energy

6.1 Most registered voters think the U.S. should use more renewable energy and less fossil fuels in the future.

A large majority of registered voters (74%) say that, in the future, the U.S. should use more renewable energy sources (solar, wind, and geothermal) than it does today, while only 11% say the U.S. should use less. Large majorities of liberal Democrats (97%) and moderate/conservative Democrats (85%) say the U.S. should use more renewable energy sources, as do about two-thirds of liberal/moderate Republicans (68%; +15 percentage points since we last asked this question in Fall 2024) and 44% of conservative Republicans. In each of the political groups, more people say the U.S. should use more renewable energy than say it should use less.

A majority of registered voters (57%) also say that, in the future, the U.S. should use less fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) than it does today, while only 21% say the U.S. should use more. Large majorities of liberal Democrats (88%) and moderate/conservative Democrats (72%) say the U.S. should use less fossil fuels. More liberal/moderate Republicans say the U.S. should use less fossil fuels (43%) than say it should use more (27%). Conservative Republicans are the only group in which more people say the U.S. should use more fossil fuels (38%) than say it should use less (25%).

7. Who Should Take Action to Address Global Warming?

7.1 Majorities of registered voters want corporations and industry, government, and citizens to do more to address global warming.

Seven in ten registered voters say corporations and industry should do either “much more” or “more” to address global warming (70% of registered voters, including 94% of liberal Democrats, 86% of moderate/conservative Democrats, 54% of liberal/moderate Republicans, and 42% of conservative Republicans).

Half or more of registered voters, including majorities of both liberal and moderate/conservative Democrats, say the U.S. Congress (64%), citizens themselves (62%), the Republican Party (62%), President Trump (60%), local government officials (56%), the Democratic Party (56%), their governor (55%), and the media (54%) should do more. Forty-eight percent of registered voters think they themselves should do more to address global warming.

Thirty-two percent of liberal/moderate Republicans say their party (the Republican Party) should do more to address global warming, while only 23% of conservative Republicans say so. Large majorities of both liberal Democrats (86%) and moderate/conservative Democrats (75%) say their party (the Democratic Party) should do more.

8. Political Advocacy

8.1 About one in three registered voters are participating in, or willing to join, a campaign to convince elected officials to take action to reduce global warming. Current participation is low.

About one in three registered voters (34%; +8 percentage points since we last asked this question in Fall 2024) say they are either “definitely” (13%; +6 points) or “probably” (20%) willing to join a campaign to convince elected officials to take action to reduce global warming or are currently participating in such a campaign (2%; refer to data tables, p. 52). This includes 60% of liberal Democrats (+10 points; 5% “currently,” 21% “definitely,” 35% “probably”), 45% of moderate/conservative Democrats (+13 points; 1% “currently,” 19% “definitely,” 26% “probably”), 18% of liberal/moderate Republicans (none “currently,” 3% “definitely,” 14% “probably”), and 10% of conservative Republicans (none “currently,” 4% “definitely,” and 6% “probably”).

8.2 Many registered voters are willing to take political actions to reduce global warming if asked.

More than half of registered voters (56%; +8 percentage points since we last asked this question in Fall 2024) say they would sign a petition about global warming if someone they like and respect asked them to, including majorities of liberal Democrats (89%) and moderate/conservative Democrats (73%), but fewer liberal/moderate Republicans (31%) and conservative Republicans (24%). Additionally, about one in three registered voters would donate money to an organization working on global warming (34%; +6 points), write letters, email, or phone government officials about global warming (33%; +6 points), or volunteer their time to an organization working on global warming (32%; +6 points), and 27% would meet with an elected official or their staff about global warming.

About one in four registered voters (27%; +5 points) would support an organization engaging in non-violent civil disobedience against corporate or government activities that make global warming worse, and 14% (including 27% of liberal Democrats and 17% of moderate/conservative Democrats) would personally engage in such non-violent civil disobedience.

8.3 Relatively few registered voters would be willing to get arrested as part of a non-violent civil disobedience action.

Although 14% of registered voters say they would personally engage in non-violent civil disobedience against corporate or government activities that make global warming worse (refer to section 8.2), only 3% say they would be willing to get arrested as part of such an action (1% “definitely would,” 2% “probably would”; refer to data tables, p. 54). This includes 7% of liberal Democrats and 5% of moderate/conservative Democrats, but no liberal/moderate Republicans and less than 1% of conservative Republicans.

According to the most recent data available from the U.S. Census Bureau, there are approximately 174 million registered voters in the United States. Given that 1% say they “definitely would” get arrested as part of a non-violent action against activities that make global warming worse, and an additional 2% “probably would,” it suggests that approximately 1.7 million to 5.2 million registered voters may be willing to do so.

8.4 Relatively few registered voters have engaged in political actions to reduce global warming in the past year.

Relatively few registered voters have engaged in political actions to reduce global warming over the past 12 months, including 15% who say they have signed a petition about global warming at least “once” (-5 percentage points since we last asked this question in Spring 2024), 13% who say they have donated money to an organization working on global warming at least “once,” and 5% who say they have volunteered their time to an organization working on global warming.

8.5 Eight percent of registered voters have urged elected officials to reduce global warming.

Eight percent of registered voters have contacted government officials to urge them to take action to reduce global warming at least once over the past 12 months. This includes 17% of liberal Democrats, 11% of moderate/conservative Democrats, 2% of liberal/moderate Republicans, and 1% of conservative Republicans.

8.6 Barriers to engaging in political advocacy on global warming

A large majority of registered voters (80%) say nobody has ever asked them to contact officials about global warming. This is true across the political spectrum, including large majorities of liberal Democrats (74%), moderate/conservative Democrats (82%), liberal/moderate Republicans (92%) and conservative Republicans (83%).

Half or more of registered voters say that contacting elected officials about global warming wouldn’t make any difference (67%), they do not contact elected officials because they are not an activist (63%), they don’t know which elected officials to contact (62%), they wouldn’t know what to say (54%), or they would feel uncomfortable contacting elected officials (52%).

Many registered voters also say they are too busy to contact elected officials (48%), it’s too much effort (47%), it’s not important (42%), they are concerned about attracting unwanted attention from government authorities (38%), they are already taking other actions (27%), or people will criticize or make fun of them (17%).

9. Openness to Information About Global Warming

9.1 About one-third of registered voters say they need more information to form a firm opinion about global warming.

About one-third of registered voters (35%) say they need “a lot” or “some” more information to form a firm opinion about global warming. Liberal/moderate Republicans (47%) were the most likely to say they need more information, followed by moderate/conservative Democrats (36%) and conservative Republicans (34%). About one in four liberal Democrats (23%) said they need more information about global warming to form a firm opinion.

9.2 About one in four registered voters say they could easily change their mind about global warming.

About one in four registered voters (26%) say they could easily change their mind about global warming. Liberal/moderate Republicans (46%) were the most likely to say they could change their mind, followed by conservative Republicans (30%) and moderate/conservative Democrats (29%). By contrast, only 8% of liberal Democrats say they could easily change their mind about global warming.

10. Collective Efficacy

10.1 Four in ten registered voters are confident they can affect what the federal government and corporations do about global warming.

Perceived collective efficacy regarding global warming – the belief that like-minded citizens can work together to influence what government and business leaders do about global warming – is an important motivator for individuals to take collective action.¹ Forty percent of registered voters are at least “moderately confident” that people like them, working together, can affect what the federal government does about global warming. Similarly, 40% are at least “moderately confident” that people like them, working together, can affect what corporations do about global warming.

About half of liberal Democrats and moderate/conservative Democrats, and about one-third of liberal/moderate Republicans, express collective efficacy regarding global warming, Conservative Republicans express the lowest collective efficacy, although that may in part be because they are less likely to support action on global warming overall.

¹Bandura, A. (2000). Exercise of human agency through collective efficacy. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 9, 75-78. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8721.00064

11. Educating Students About Global Warming

11.1 A large majority of registered voters say schools should teach children about global warming.

The Next Generation Science Standards for K-12 STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education in the United States recommend that climate change be included in school science curricula.

A large majority of registered voters (78%) agree that schools should teach children about the causes and consequences of global warming, and potential solutions. This includes nearly all liberal and moderate/conservative Democrats (97% and 94% respectively), about two-thirds of liberal/moderate Republicans (68%), and about half of conservative Republicans (51%).

Appendix I: Data Tables

Data Tables can be found beginning on p. 39 of the PDF version of the report:

 

Appendix II: Survey Method

The data in this report are based on a nationally representative survey of 1,040 American adults, aged 18 and older. Results are reported for the subset of 915 registered voters who participated in the survey. The survey was conducted May 1 – 12, 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) residential 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 given 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. The sample was weighted, post survey, to match key US Census Bureau demographic 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, 301 respondents, 271 of whom are registered voters included in this report, 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 Edward Maibach, John Kotcher, Teresa Myers, Joshua Ettinger, and Julia Fine of George Mason University. The figures and tables were constructed by Emily Goddard of Yale University.

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 was interviewed. Average margins of error, at the 95% confidence level, are as follows:

• All Registered Voters (n = 915): Plus or minus 3 percentage points.
• Democrats (total; n = 437): Plus or minus 5 percentage points.
• Liberal Democrats (n = 234): Plus or minus 6 percentage points.
• Moderate/conservative Democrats (n = 202): Plus or minus 7 percentage points.
• Republicans (total; n = 374): Plus or minus 5 percentage points.
• Liberal/moderate Republicans (n = 108): Plus or minus 9 percentage points.
• Conservative Republicans (n = 266): Plus or minus 6 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 chart may total slightly higher or lower than 100%. Summed response categories (e.g., “strongly support” + “somewhat support”) 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%).ported 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. 63 of the PDF version of the report: