The Democratic National Committee may have voted down a national debate centered only on climate change, but voters aren’t about to let the issue fade.
With roughly 20 candidates vying to challenge President Trump facing energy and resource questions at most campaign stops and televised town halls, more than a quarter of Americans questioned in a CBS News poll this week said they consider climate change a “crisis.” A further 36% defined it as a “serious problem.” Two in 10 respondents said it was a “minor” problem, with 16% considering it “not worrisome at all.”
More than half of polled Americans said they wanted the climate-change matter confronted right away, with smaller groups satisfied to wait a few more years and just 18% rejecting any need to act.
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The poll was conducted by YouGov using a nationally representative sample of 2,143 U.S. residents interviewed between Sept. 6-10. Results were released as part of Covering Climate Now, a collaboration of more than 250 U.S. and global news outlets with a combined audience of more than 1 billion people.
The results also hit ahead of a major United Nations climate summit in New York on Sept. 23.
There is a consensus among distinguished climate scientists that the world is heating up due to human activities such as burning fossil fuels for power and transportation. Forest loss is another key area under watch, including after recent fires in the Amazon Rainforest. Still, 44%, less than half, of the CBS poll respondents said human activity was a major contributor to climate change. More than a quarter said human impact was minor or nonexistent.
It’s clear there’s a divide when it comes to assessing the field of study. According to the CBS poll, 52% of Americans say “scientists agree that humans are a main cause” of the climate crisis, with 48% claiming there is disagreement among experts.
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Political affiliation is another determining factor, at least according this poll. Nearly seven in 10 Democratic voters say they believe that humans significantly influence the climate and 80% want immediate action, just 20% of Republicans think humans are a primary cause and barely a quarter want rapid action.
On the science, nearly three-quarters of Democrats said almost all experts agree that humans are driving climate change, with 29% of Republicans saying the same.
Age matters, as well. Two-thirds of Republican voters aged under 45 consider it their duty to address the climate crisis, according to the CBS poll. Just 38% of Republicans 45 and above feel the same.
Read: Number of young Republicans concerned about environment jumps in last five years
Views of how the Trump administration is handling the environment are related to partisanship. Most Republicans give the president at least a “good” rating on the environment (a third say he is doing an “excellent” job), while eight in 10 Democrats say he is doing a poor job.
While the administration has rolled back regulations to cut emissions of heat-trapping carbon dioxide from power and industrial plants and pushed for more coal use, wide shares of Americans say they want just the opposite, according to a separate poll released last week from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
About two out of three Americans asked in that query said corporations have a responsibility to combat climate change, and a similar share also say it’s the job of the U.S. government.
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The Trump administration is poised on Wednesday to revoke California’s authority to set auto mileage standards, asserting that only the federal government has the power to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and fuel economy, the Associated Press and other news outlets reported. The move comes after the Justice Department recently opened an antitrust investigation into a deal between California and four automakers — Ford F, -0.22% Volkswagen, BMW and Honda HMC, -0.07% — for tougher pollution and related mileage requirements than those sought by President Donald Trump.
One particular plan being advanced by some Democratic leaders — the “Green New Deal” — is met with skepticism from many Americans. Just 15% of Americans in the CBS poll describe the Green New Deal as a good plan that encompasses what’s needed to address climate change. Another 26% say it is has both desirable and undesirable features, but they believe its promotion at least kicks off valuable discussions on climate change. Twenty-four percent say it is a bad plan and not what is needed to address climate change, while about a third haven’t heard enough about it to form an opinion yet.
About half of the field of roughly 20 Democratic challengers backs a “Green New Deal” in some form. Some are adding their own features to the pact rolled out by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other members of Congress earlier this year. Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Kamala Harris, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Cory Booker and Sen. Amy Klobuchar all signed off on the Green New Deal legislation.
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Regardless of concern over climate change, there appears to be skepticism among Americans about how much humans can do about it.
Just 19% said humans can stop rising temperatures and the associated impacts, with nearly half thinking it possible to slow but not stop the changes and 23% refusing to believe humans can do anything at all, the CBS poll said.
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