Poll Finds Deep Split on Climate Change. Party Allegiance Is a Big Factor.
Source: New York Times
Poll Finds Deep Split on Climate Change. Party Allegiance Is a Big Factor.
By TATIANA SCHLOSSBERG OCT. 4, 2016
Americans are deeply divided on the causes, cures and urgency of climate change, and party identification is one of the strongest predictors of individual views, according to a poll released Tuesday by the Pew Research Center.
Just over a third of Americans say they care a great deal about climate change. Among them, 72 percent are Democrats and 24 percent are Republicans; both numbers include independents who say they generally lean toward one party.
On other questions on climate change, Americans remain starkly divided: Nearly seven of 10 Democrats believe climate change is mainly a result of human activity; fewer than a quarter of Republicans believe that. A similarly worded question that appeared on surveys from 2006 to 2015 found comparable gaps on the perceived causes of climate change.
According to some scientists who study public perceptions of climate change, the United States is unusual in its relatively low level of public interest and engagement. In a poll conducted last year, around the time that world leaders gathered in Paris to negotiate a climate agreement, Pew found that among the 40 countries surveyed, a median of 54 percent of people considered climate change a serious problem. Among Americans, the figure was 45 percent, that poll found.
The new survey did find areas in which Americans agree across party lines. More than 80 percent, including wide majorities of Democrats, Republicans and independents, favor expansion of the solar and wind industries. About two-thirds of Americans say that climate scientists should play a major role in policy decisions related to climate change.
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Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/05/science/climate-change-poll-pew.html?_r=0
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Related: The Politics of Climate (Pew Research Center)
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