Climate Change in the American Mind
Public opinion plays a critical role in the American response to global warming. Our twice a year Climate Change in the American Mind nationally representative surveys investigate, track, and explain public climate change knowledge, risk perceptions, policy support and behavior.
Our findings are published in numerous reports and peer-reviewed articles and are cited by leading news organizations, academic journals, and online media around the world. Conducted with our partners at the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, it is the largest and most comprehensive resource on American public opinion about climate change.
Beliefs and Attitudes Reports
Politics and Policy Reports
Climate Notes
Climate Notes are short articles that interpret and analyze the research produced by our Climate Change in the American Mind research reports.
Our Climate Change in the American Mind Work
Extreme Weather and Climate Change in the American Mind: September 2012
A large and growing majority of Americans (74%, up 5 points since our last national survey in March 2012) say “global warming is affecting weather in the United States". Download Report Report Summary Highlights A large and growing majority of Americans say “global...
Climate Change in the American Mind: Americans’ Global Warming Beliefs and Attitudes in September 2012
Americans’ belief in the reality of global warming has increased by 13 percentage points over the past two and a half years, from 57 percent in January 2010 to 70 percent in September 2012. Download Report Executive Summary Americans’ belief in the reality of global...
Extreme Weather, Climate Preparedness in the American Mind: March 2012
In 2011, Americans experienced a record-breaking 14 weather and climate disasters that each caused $1 billion or more in damages, in total costing approximately $53 billion, along with incalculable loss of human life. These disasters included severe drought in Texas...
Climate Change in the American Mind: Americans’ Global Warming Beliefs and Attitudes in March 2012
Overall, Americans' beliefs and attitudes about global warming have remained relatively stable over the past several months, with a few exceptions. There has been a slight increase in the proportion of people that believe global warming is happening and a slight...
Climate Change in the Indian Mind
In November and December 2011, members of our research team conducted a study investigating the Indian public’s climate change awareness, beliefs, attitudes, policy support, and behaviors. A total of 4031 people, from both rural and urban areas, responded to the...
Americans’ Public Support for Climate and Energy Policies: November 2011
Public Support for Climate & Energy Policies in May 2011 reports results from a national survey fielded from April 23 to May 12, 2011 with 1,010 adults, using the online research panel of Knowledge Networks. The report includes measures of public support for...
Explore Our Data
Whether you’re a researcher, journalist, policymaker, educator, advocate, or simply curious about public opinion on climate change, our interactive tools make it easy to explore how Americans’ beliefs, risk perceptions, policy preferences, and behaviors have evolved over time. Dive into nationally representative data, compare trends across demographic and political groups, and uncover insights to inform research, communication, and decision-making.
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