Politics & Global Warming, April 2020

For Republicans, belief in global warming per se is less of a sticking point (most think it’s happening, including 47% of conservative Republicans), whereas accepting that it’s human caused remains less common (only 30% of conservative Republicans). This report provides an analysis of public opinion data about the views of Democratic, Independent, and Republican voters registered on global warming, climate and energy policies, and personal collective action. Results show that the majority of registered voters believe that global warming is real (75%) and caused by human action (61%).

Read the Executive Summary or the full report.

Global warming beliefs and attitudes: 

• 75% of all registered voters surveyed believe in the existence of global warming (98% of liberal Democrats, 92% of moderate/conservative Democrats, 69% of liberal/moderate Republicans, and 47% of conservative Republicans). 
• 61% of all registered voters surveyed believe that global warming is caused by human activities, but the majority of these are Democrats. Only 30% of conservative Republicans agree with this. 
• 66% of all registered voters surveyed are worried about global warming, with the majority of these being Democrats. 

Global Warming and Voting: 

• 44% of registered voters surveyed said that a candidate’s position on global warming was very important to them when deciding who to vote for in the 2020 election. 
• Registered voters were asked to rank 30 issues and “global warming” was the 13th most highly ranked issue. 

Global Warming and Energy Politics:

• 87% of registered voters surveyed support additional funding for renewables like solar and wind.
• 76% of registered voters surveyed support regulating carbon dioxide as a pollutant. 
• 68% of registered voters surveyed support a revenue-neutral carbon tax. 
• 60% of registered voters surveyed support a fee and dividend. 
• 72% of registered voters surveyed support a Green New Deal. 

Global Warming and Collective Action:

• 2% of registered voters surveyed said they are currently involved in a campaign designed to pressure their elected officials to take action on global warming. 
• However, 33% of registered voters said that they would contact a government official about global warming they were asked by a person they like.
• Furthermore, 28% indicated they would support an organization that uses non-violent tactics against corporations that exacerbate global warming.