58% Say Climate Change Is Real, Humans Responsible

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  • A majority (58%) of voters say climate change is real and primarily created by humans.
    • One quarter (25%) say that climate change is real and primarily caused by factors other than humans.
    • Still, 10% disagree and say that climate change is not real.
    • Voters had very similar views in February 2023.
    • Republicans are divided: 39% say climate change is real and primarily created by humans; 32% say other factors are the primary cause; and 18% say it’s not real.
    • Democrats are more aligned: 76% say it’s real and created by humans for the most part, 32% say other factors are the primary cause, and only 2% say climate change is not real.
  • Most voters (78%) say it is important to fight climate change, with 47% saying it is Very Important.
    • Just 18% say fighting climate change is not very or not at all important.
    • An overwhelming majority (93%) of Democrats say fighting climate change is important. Fewer Independents (73%) and Republicans (64%) feel the same.
    • Another large majority (89%) are postgraduates who say fighting climate change is important.
  • When prompted for a few words of what they consider a catastrophic impact of climate change, voters said things like “global warming,” “fire,” “more violent and dangerous storms,” and “rising sea levels.”
    • Over one third (35%) related the impacts to extreme weather events.
    • Some (13%) related the impacts to melting ice.
    • Others (11%) related impacts to temperature extremes.
    • Party responses were fairly aligned.
  • Half (50%) of voters say that it’s at least Somewhat Likely they will see catastrophic impacts of climate change in their lifetime.
    • One in 5 (20%) say they have already seen catastrophic impacts.
    • One quarter (25%) say it’s Not Very or Not at All Likely that they’ll see any catastrophic impacts of climate change in their lifetime.
    • By a slim margin of 43% to 39%, Republicans say they will see catastrophic impacts of climate change.
    • A larger margin of Democrats (58% to 12%) say they will see the impacts.

This data is from a Napolitan News Service survey of 1,000 Registered Voters conducted online by Scott Rasmussen, April 20-21, 2026. RMG Research, Inc., conducted the field work for the survey. It has a margin of error of +/- 3.1.