How Americans View Future Harms From Climate Change in Their Community and Around the U.S.
A majority of Americans believe climate change is causing harm to people in the U.S. today and 63% expect things to get worse in their lifetime.
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A majority of Americans believe climate change is causing harm to people in the U.S. today and 63% expect things to get worse in their lifetime.
As the Earth’s temperature continues to rise, climate change remains a lower priority for some Americans, and a subset of the public rejects that it’s happening at all. To better understand the perspectives of those who see less urgency to address climate change, the Center conducted a series of in-depth interviews designed to provide deeper insight into the motivations and views of those most skeptical about climate change.
Large shares of Americans support the U.S. taking steps to address global climate change and prioritize renewable energy development in the country. Still, fewer than half are ready to phase out fossil fuels completely and 59% oppose ending the production of gas-powered cars.
Most U.S. adults – including a solid majority of Christians and large numbers of people who identify with other religious traditions – consider the Earth sacred and believe God gave humans a duty to care for it. But highly religious Americans are far less likely than other U.S. adults to express concern about warming temperatures around the globe.
Despite the many depressing stories dominating the international news cycle, there is also a note of positivity among survey respondents in views of the UN, the benefits of international cooperation for solving problems and the importance of common values for bringing nations together.
Several climate policies receive bipartisan support, despite Republicans and Democrats differing on the overall approach.
Majorities of Americans say the United States should prioritize the development of renewable energy sources and take steps toward the country becoming carbon neutral by the year 2050. But just 31% want to phase out fossil fuels completely, and many foresee unexpected problems in a major transition to renewable energy.
Yet renewable sources, like wind and solar, remain Americans’ overall priority for domestic production.
Majorities of Americans support an array of measures to address climate change but stop short of a full break with fossil fuels.
There are wide partisan gaps over most of the 19 items asked about – particularly addressing racial issues and dealing with global climate change.
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