Tracking Energy and Climate Trends
Monthly surveys are conducted among a representative sample of roughly 2,200 U.S. adults (including roughly 2,000 registered voters) and have an unweighted margin of error of +/-2 percentage points.
As emissions mount and the globe continues to warm, climate change and the energy transition are increasingly on the public's mind, both in terms of how they regard their own choices and whether they approve of their governments' approaches.
Tracking Energy and Climate Trends represents Morning Consult's ongoing effort to track how the U.S. public feels about energy and climate. It includes regularly updated climate concern and disaster concern trackers, broken down by party, race/ethnicity and generation, as well as a collection of stories based on other trended data on energy sources, fuel and electricity prices and more.
Key Takeaways
Climate Concern Rises Slightly: Almost 2 in 5 U.S. adults – and a similar share of voters – say they are “very concerned” about climate change and its impacts, a small increase of 3 percentage points in June to 38% this month. Within the race and ethnicity demographic, Hispanics had the highest increase in concern, rising by 8 points to 41%.
About 1 in 3 Adults “Very Concerned” About Disasters: Concern about the impact of natural disasters in local communities rose by 5 points to 35% among U.S. adults. Among voters, concern from Democrats (49%) and independents (28%) both rose by 7 points and 6 points, respectively, while Republicans (21%) had no change in concern. Within the race and ethnicity demographic, Hispanics had the highest increase in concern with an increase of 13 points to 42%.
Confidence in U.S. Climate Action Remains Steady: Fewer than half of voters (47%) are confident that the United States will reduce its carbon emissions and slow the impacts of climate change in the next decade, rising by only 2 points in June. Confidence grew the most among Republicans, which increased by 4 points to 42%.
Interest in Hybrid Vehicles Rises Slightly: Consumer interest in hybrid electric vehicles over the next decade grew by 4 points to 56%. Meanwhile, interest in purchasing an electric vehicle grew slightly by 2 points to 47%, while interest in gasoline-powered vehicles remained unchanged at 62%.
More Than 2 in 5 Adults “Very Concerned” About Current Electricity Prices: The latest data shows that 45% of U.S. adults are “very concerned” about current electricity prices, increasing by 4 points in June amid brutal heat waves that have hit large swaths of the nation. Concern with future electricity prices remained steady, with roughly half of adults citing concerns.
Tracking Disaster Concern
Monthly surveys are conducted among a representative sample of roughly 2,200 U.S. adults (including roughly 2,000 registered voters) and have an unweighted margin of error of +/-2 percentage points.
Tracking Confidence in U.S. Climate Action by Party
Monthly surveys are conducted among a representative sample of roughly 2,000 registered voters and have an unweighted margin of error of +/-2 percentage points.
Tracking Vehicle Interest Over the Coming Decade
Monthly surveys are conducted among a representative sample of roughly 2,200 U.S. adults and have an unweighted margin of error of +/-2 percentage points.
Tracking Electricity Price Concern
Monthly surveys are conducted among a representative sample of roughly 2,200 U.S. adults and have an unweighted margin of error of +/-2 percentage points.
Source of This Data
Methodology
The Taking the Temperature energy and climate tracker relies on a monthly survey to track how U.S. voters' and adults' opinions on climate change and energy evolve over time. The latest results are based on a survey of 1,978 registered voters and 2,207 U.S. adults conducted July 5-7, 2023, with an unweighted margin of error of +/-2 percentage points.
In February 2023, Morning Consult changed the survey frequency of our Energy and Climate Tracker to a monthly cadence. To request weekly data from May 29, 2021, to Feb. 4, 2023, please reach out to [email protected].
About Morning Consult
Morning Consult is a global decision intelligence company changing how modern leaders make smarter, faster, better decisions. The company pairs its proprietary high-frequency data with applied artificial intelligence to better inform decisions on what people think and how they will act. Learn more at morningconsult.com.
Email [email protected] to speak with a member of the Morning Consult team.
Julia Martinez previously worked at Morning Consult as an energy & auto analyst on the Industry Intelligence team.
Brian Yermal is a research editor on the Industry Intelligence team, where he edits the team’s email newsletters, written analysis and reports. Brian previously worked as a copy editor at the Altoona Mirror newspaper in central Pennsylvania. He graduated from Penn State University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism.
