Resource Type: Polling & Surveys

In 2021, we saw high and enduring public support for a range of actions that would address the climate crisis and put the country on a path to a cleaner future. The 70% of Americans who say they are at least “somewhat” worried about global warming is the highest figure recorded since this surveying began in 2008. A September 2021 poll also found that 70% of Americans believe that global warming is affecting weather in the United States, a new high. Americans are most likely to believe that global warming is having at least “some” effect on hot weather events such as extreme heat (68%), wildfires (67%), and droughts (66%). While Pew found that 65% of Republican voters in early 2020 believed that the country should prioritize renewables over fossil fuels, more Republican voters in April 2021 said that expanding fossil fuels should be the country’s energy priority (52%) than developing alternative energy sources (47%). However, Republican voters reported far less confidence in Republican politicians in their ability to handle environmental issues, as compared to other issues such as the economy or immigration. More Democrats said that passing a bill to address climate change and its effects should be a “top priority” for Congress (56%) than any other priority aside from stimulating the economy to recover from the coronavirus pandemic (60%) and passing a healthcare reform bill (57%). This report also includes survey data summaries about Build Back Better, scientists as trusted authorities, and holding corporations accountable.

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls – including new polling about Build Back Better, a new Yale/GMU report on consumer activism, and a comparison of how strongly partisan voters on both sides care about the government’s approach to climate change.

Nonprofits are making digital engagement a critical part of their strategy. 65% of engagement by nonprofits in 2022 was digital in some way (compared to 55% of engagement by companies). 511 million people got help via nonprofit digital communications in 2021, a 373% increase since 2019. 96% of leading nonprofits say digital communications is crucial to engagement with their constituency. Responses from people being served by nonprofits report feeling helped by digital communications in particular. This report provides other forms of data about nonprofit digital engagement strategy.

A larger proportion of Wisconsinites are concerned about climate change than any other issue facing the state. However, folks are more concerned about the threat of climate change nationally rather than in Wisconsin. The article suggests this might be due to the increasingly nationalized nature of elections in Wisconsin. When considering messaging in swing states, where messaging is already more nationally focused, advocates interested in increasing turnout on these issues should actually consider more national frames. This is a deviation from most recommendations to focus on localized messaging.