Tracking Energy and Climate Trends

Key Takeaways

• Climate concern remains steady among adults: Roughly 2 in 5 U.S. adults and a similar share of all voters said they are “very concerned” about climate change and its impacts at the start of May, around the same level of concern compared with April. Concern among independent voters fell by 9 percentage points to 33%, falling back down to usual levels after concern spiked in April to 42%. Within the race and ethnicity demographic, concern among Hispanics fell by 11 percentage points to 34%.

• Over one-third of adults “very concerned” about disasters: The latest data shows 36% of U.S. adults are “very concerned” about the impact of natural disasters on their community, falling by 2 points from the start of April. Among political parties, disaster concern fell the most among independent voters, decreasing by 12 points to 26%.

• Confidence in U.S. climate action grows among voters: More than half of voters (53%) are confident that the United States will reduce its carbon emissions and slow the impacts of climate change in the next decade, an increase of 8 points from the previous month. Confidence grew among all political parties, with the share of Democrats increasing by 7 points to 63%, independents rising by 5 points to 43% and Republicans increasing by 8 points to 46%.

• Interest in hybrid purchases falls: Consumer interest in electric vehicles over the next decade has remained relatively steady at around 48%, falling by 1 point from last month. However, interest in purchasing a hybrid in the next 10 years fell by 6 percentage points to 55%, dropping to earlier levels seen in March. Meanwhile, interest in gasoline-powered vehicles has also mostly held steady, with about 2 in 3 adults saying they’d buy or lease one in the next decade.

• 2 in 5 adults “very concerned” about current electricity prices: The latest addition to the “Taking the Temperature” project shows that 2 in 5 adults are “very concerned” about current electricity prices, falling slightly by 3 points from the previous month. Less than half of adults said they are “very concerned” about future prices.