A recent CBS News/YouGov survey of 2,230 adults in the United States found that 70% of respondents supported the government taking active steps to prevent climate change. 

This majority stance was prompted by recent record-breaking temperatures, with 2023 dubbed the hottest year since global temperature records began in 1850.

The survey, conducted between April 16 and 19, found that most Americans agree that action to combat climate change is important.

When asked about the timetable for addressing climate change, 52% of respondents urged for action “right now,” while 17% supported doing so “in the next few years.” Only 11% said climate change should be addressed “further in the future.” Notably, 20% of poll respondents believed climate change should not be handled.

Even though the vast majority of poll respondents recognized the importance of climate change action, only half of them personally experienced extreme weather.

This suggests that specific categories of individuals support steps to reduce climate change, even if they haven’t directly experienced its impacts.

Among respondents who believe climate change should be handled “right now,” 69% have experienced extreme weather.

34% of survey respondents who agreed that climate change should be handled promptly said they had never directly experienced extreme weather.

The survey also divided respondents into age groups. This indicates that most people in each age group supported taking action to combat climate change.

The percentages vary by age group. Specifically, 76% of people aged 18 to 29 and 79% of those aged 30-44 reported a desire to take action to combat climate change. In contrast, a significantly lower 68% of people aged 45 to 64 agreed on the importance of taking action, while only 58% of those aged 65 and over agreed.

As anticipated, respondents demonstrated significant diversity when sorted by political affiliation. The survey indicated that 74% of Democrats believe climate change must be tackled promptly, while only 29% of Republicans expressed the same attitude.

49% of independents agree that climate change must be addressed promptly, a slightly lower number than the majority.

When asked the question, “Should the U.S. take steps to reduce climate change?” An overwhelming 91% of Democrats favor positive steps. 68% of independents also favor taking these steps, with only 48% of Republicans agreeing.

This indicates that Republicans were the only political party polled where the majority opposed taking steps to mitigate the effects of climate change.

While the majority of Republicans may disagree on taking action to combat climate change, there is nuance when looking at specific age groups. Among Republicans aged 18 to 44, 61% support the United States adopting steps to combat climate change.

Republicans aged 45 and up contribute to the overall disagreement, with 60% rejecting measures to combat climate change.

According to CBS, the poll was conducted using a nationally representative sample of 2,230 adult U.S. residents. The sample data was weighted to reflect the observed proportions of gender, age, race, and education seen in American society according to “the U.S. Census American Community Survey and Current Population Survey, as well as past vote.”

The poll has a margin of era of plus or minus 2.7 points.

The results of this latest poll are consistent with other recent data showing that Americans are getting increasingly concerned about climate change.

According to A.P. News, a recent poll indicated that 45% of U.S. adults have become more concerned about climate change in the last year. This figure includes six out of ten Democrats and almost 25% of Republicans.

Americans are becoming increasingly worried about climate change as the cost of extreme weather continues to damage portions of the country. According to research released last year by the World Bank, extreme weather events cost the United States $150 billion per year.

In October, the World Economic Forum calculated that climate-related damage to the world costs almost $16 million each hour.

Under President Biden, the government implemented the Inflation Reduction Act. This is regarded as Biden’s hallmark program to combat climate change.

This program provides financing for incentives designed to persuade businesses and consumers to invest in sustainable energy sources. Although the law already affects some Americans, surveys show that many U.S. residents are unaware of it.