This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including new polling on extreme weather, clean water, EVs, and voters’ perceptions about the costs of different energy sources.

A rising share of Americans report experience with extreme weather, as nearly two in five say that they’ve been affected in the past two years. 37% of Americans now say that they were personally impacted by an extreme weather event where they live in the past two years, an increase from 33% in previous Gallup polls from 2022 and 2023. Americans living in the South (49%) and West (43%) are considerably more likely to say that they’ve personally been impacted by extreme weather in recent years than those living in the Midwest (26%) or East (21%). In an open-ended question, more Americans said that they were impacted by hurricanes specifically (12%) than any other type of extreme weather. Those living in the South (28%) were the most likely to say that they’d been impacted by hurricanes, while Americans in the West were more likely to name experiences with wildfires (17%) than any other type of extreme weather and those in the Midwest (10%) were most likely to say that they’d been impacted by tornadoes.

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including new polling on Trump’s handling of costs and energy issues, new polling on energy efficiency, and new polling about extreme weather and its impacts on the home insurance market.

The Guardian has recreated a searchable climate future risk tool developed by FEMA, which was later deleted. It was the first free, localized resource showing how much climate change impacts will cost American communities. Drawing data from across federal government agencies, the index has county-by-county information on projected annual losses this century from threats including extreme heat, coastal flooding, wildfires, hurricanes and drought, all of which are worsened by human-caused global heating. Each county was also given an overall risk rating, which ranked how vulnerable its particular population is to climate shocks. Such information is crucial for planning by local governments, insurers, utilities and others that look to FEMA to help contend with a growing list of disasters now affecting American communities.

Voters say that climate change is contributing to the rise in home insurance costs. While voters have overwhelmingly positive attitudes about clean energy companies, oil and gas companies are underwater. 65% of voters have favorable attitudes about the clean energy industry, compared to just 21% who feel unfavorably about it. 72% of voters say that the increase in climate change-fueled extreme weather events is at least “somewhat” responsible for recent changes in the home insurance sector, including spikes in home insurance rates and insurance companies leaving state insurance markets. Around two-thirds of voters (67%), including majorities of Democrats (82%), independents (61%), and Republicans (56%), say that they are at least “somewhat” concerned about future increases in the frequency of extreme weather events. Additionally, nearly four in five voters (78%) – including large majorities of Democrats (81%), independents (75%), and Republicans (76%) – are at least “somewhat” concerned about future increases in the price of property insurance.

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including new polling on federal funding cuts, the Trump administration’s early actions on energy and the environment, and Americans’ concerns about climate change and extreme weather.

Trump’s early actions on climate change and clean energy are unpopular; Americans particularly disapprove of halting wind energy projects, as they believe that stopping clean energy projects will hurt job growth. 57% of Americans oppose the Trump administration’s action to halt new wind energy projects. 57% of Americans agree that the Trump administration will hurt job growth by stopping clean energy projects. 61% of Americans agree that the Trump administration’s plan to increase oil and gas drilling will harm air and water quality. 60% of Americans agree that the Trump administration’s plan to increase oil and gas drilling will increase pollution and harm people’s health. Independents oppose the halting of wind energy projects by a 22-point margin (39% support / 61% oppose), oppose the IRA funding pause by a 20-point margin (40% support / 60% oppose), and oppose the Paris Agreement withdrawal by a 12-point margin (44% support / 56% oppose).

Majorities of Americans continue to say that they’ve been impacted by extreme weather and that climate change was a factor behind it, and most are concerned that climate change will increase property insurance premiums. 72% of Americans recognize that climate change is happening. 72% of Americans who self-report experience with extreme weather in recent years say that climate change was a cause. While Democrats (89%) and independents (72%) overwhelmingly attribute their experiences with extreme weather to climate change, Republicans are more split (43% climate change was a cause / 55% climate change was not a cause). Most also believe that climate change will have a major impact on their lives in specific ways, such as affecting the air quality where they live (65%), their personal health (56%), and the availability of water in their area (55%). Majorities say that they’re either “extremely” or “very” concerned that climate change will increase property insurance premiums for households (59%) and increase energy costs for households (55%).

Some Americans recognize the health harms of global warming, but many do not. Many Americans have thought (32%) or worried (28%) a “great deal” or “moderate amount” about the health harms of global warming, similar to the percentages in 2014. 39% of Americans think Americans’ health is being harmed by global warming “a great deal” or “a moderate amount,” an 8 percentage point increase from 2014. However, only 16% think their own health is being harmed by global warming a “great deal” or a “moderate amount.” 47% of Americans understand that some groups in the U.S. are more likely than others to experience the health harms of global warming, +13 points since 2014. When asked to name groups more likely than others to be affected, Americans most commonly identify low-income people (18%, +12 points since 2014), older adults (7%), people with health conditions (6%), and people of color (6%, +5 points). Most Americans think coal (65%) harms people’s health, and many think natural gas does (38%, +9 points since 2018). 39% of Americans think federal agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) should do more to protect people from health harms related to global warming.

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including new results from the EPC’s collaborative Community Poll project, a new edition of Yale and GMU’s long-running “Climate Change in the American Mind” study, and new polling on federal tax proposals and the agencies and programs that could be cut.