A growing majority of Americans believe the world is falling short in the fight against climate change, according to a new Pew Research Center survey that found rising pessimism about avoiding the most severe impacts of global warming.
The survey, released Thursday, found that about six in 10 Americans believe countries around the world, including the United States, will not do enough to avoid the worst effects of climate change. The shift is particularly pronounced among Democrats, where the share expressing that view climbed from 51% in 2022 to 69% this year.
The findings come as the Trump administration has rolled back several climate policies, including withdrawing from international climate agreements, easing emissions standards and expanding fossil fuel development on federal lands, according to Pew.
Climate change remains a partisan divide
While Americans remain deeply divided along political lines, a majority continue to view climate change as a significant issue.
Overall, 48% of Americans say the Earth is warming mostly because of human activity, while 22% attribute warming primarily to natural patterns. Another 12% say there is no solid evidence the planet is warming, and 17% remain unsure. Those figures have changed little over the past decade.
Three-quarters of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents say climate change is mostly caused by human activity. Among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, that figure drops to 21%.
The survey also found stark differences in how Americans perceive the current impacts of climate change. Nearly seven in 10 Democrats say climate change is already harming people in the United States a great deal or quite a bit, compared with just 22% of Republicans.
Extreme weather concerns grow
Many Americans say they are seeing the effects of climate change through increasingly severe weather.
Sixty-eight percent of respondents said extreme weather events are occurring more often than in the past, while 62% said those events have become more severe.
Those views cross geographic boundaries, though partisan differences remain substantial. Eighty-five percent of Democrats believe extreme weather is becoming more frequent compared to 49% of Republicans.
Pew noted that majorities in every region of the country — including the Northeast, Midwest, South and West — say extreme weather events are happening more often than they did in previous decades.
Americans see a role for business, government
Among respondents who believe climate change is causing at least some harm, most say major institutions have a significant role to play in addressing the problem.
Seventy-two percent said large technology companies can do a lot to reduce the effects of climate change. Similar shares pointed to the energy industry, large corporations and the federal government.
Far fewer respondents said individual Americans can make a major difference on their own.
At the same time, 60% of Americans believe the federal government is doing too little to address climate change. That figure rises to 87% among Democrats but falls to 31% among Republicans.
Majorities also said the federal government is doing too little to protect air quality, water quality and natural habitats.
Technology alone isn’t expected to solve the problem
Despite optimism surrounding technological advances, Americans remain skeptical that innovation alone will address climate change.
Among those who believe climate change is causing harm, only 20% said it is very likely that new technologies will solve most climate-related problems over the next 30 years.
By comparison, half said major changes to everyday life will likely be necessary to address climate impacts.
The survey also found that while Americans frequently engage in environmentally friendly behaviors, financial savings often drive those decisions more than environmental concerns. Respondents were more likely to cite saving money as the reason for limiting energy use, conserving water, buying secondhand goods or reducing driving.
Recycling was the exception. Among those who regularly recycle, 76% said helping the environment was a major reason for doing so.
The survey of 3,524 U.S. adults was conducted March 16-22 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.8 percentage points.
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