Most Say Climate Change Catastrophe Likely, Want Government Action

Most voters still see climate change as a natural disaster in the making, and those who blame humans for it remain strongly supportive of a government crackdown.

A new Heartland Institute and Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 61% of Likely U.S. Voters consider it likely that climate change will be catastrophic for humans, plants and animals, with 36% who say it’s Very Likely. This compares to 63% and 43% respectively a year ago. Thirty-five percent (35%) don’t view such a catastrophe as likely, but that includes only 16% who say it’s Not At All Likely. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Forty-seven percent (47%) believe climate change is caused primarily by human activity. Thirty-eight percent (38%) disagree and say long-term planetary trends are to blame. Sixteen percent (16%) are not sure. These findings are virtually unchanged from last year at this time.

Among voters who blame humans for climate change, 82% think the federal or state governments should require people to engage in activities that will lower carbon-dioxide emissions. That’s up from 76% in the previous survey. Just 10% disagree.

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The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted December 6-7, 2020 by the Heartland Institute and Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

While most voters continue to worry about climate change, they’re not concerned enough to part with their hard-earned money to do something about it.

Voters under 40 see more likelihood of climate change catastrophe than their elders do. They’re also a lot more likely to blame humans.

Sixty-one percent (61%) of Democrats think it’s Very Likely that climate change will be catastrophic for humans, plants and animals, but just 15% of Republicans and 28% of voters not affiliated with either major party agree.

Democrats are also far more likely than the others to see human activity as the culprit and are the strongest supporters of federal or state action to require people to engage in activities that will lower carbon-dioxide emissions.

Advocates of socialism are much more concerned about climate change than those who prefer a free-market economic system and are much stronger supporters of government action.

When all voters are asked about the role of international institutions like the United Nations, the World Economic Forum and the International Monetary Fund in U.S. policies, 49% think they should be influential in crafting U.S. policies to address climate change, with 19% who say they should be Very Influential. Forty-three percent (43%) oppose outside influence on U.S. policies, with 28% who say they should be Not At All Influential.

Most voters agree the incidence of wildfires is up this year, but they don’t buy that climate change is the main reason the fires are spreading.

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.

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