Climate change in the American Perspectives Survey - National Center for Science Education

Climate change in the American Perspectives Survey | National Center for Science Education

A new report from the Survey Center on American Life contains information about the American public's attitudes toward the existence and causes of climate change, with evidence that the issue continues to be politically polarized.

Asked "Which comes closest to your view," 49 percent of respondents preferred "The Earth is getting warmer mostly because of human activity such as burning fossil fuels," 24 percent preferred "The Earth is getting warmer mostly because of natural patterns in the Earth’s environment," and 7 percent preferred "There is no solid evidence that the Earth is getting warmer," while 19 percent were not sure and 1 percent refused to answer.

The report observed, "Democrats' and Republicans' views widely differ on the causes and existence of climate change. Roughly three-quarters (73 percent) of Democrats say the Earth is warming primarily due to human activity, while only 19 percent of Republicans agree." Higher levels of education were associated with higher levels of acceptance of human responsibility for climate change, although more among Democrats and independents than among Republicans.

The American Perspectives Survey was conducted among a sample of 5055 U.S. adults selected from a probability-based panel between May 16 and May 24, 2023. The margin of sampling error is +/- 1.5 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.