Poll: GOP grows more skeptical of global warming

Newly released Gallup polling shows a widening partisan split on climate change and a growing rejection among Republicans of the dominant scientific views on the topic.

Why it matters: The polling underscores why, despite rare bipartisan policy agreements, prospects for sweeping legislative action on climate change are as remote as ever. The data arrives as the White House is unwinding several Obama-era global warming initiatives.

What they found (Check out the chart above): The nationwide telephone poll of slightly over 1,000 adults in early March shows that almost nine in 10 Democrats agree that global warming is caused by humans, compared to roughly a third of Republicans.

• The scientific consensus is that human activities, notably the burning of fossil fuels, have been the dominant driver of warming since the mid-20th century.

Yes, but: Overall public belief in human-caused climate change; concern about the topic; and agreement that its effects are already apparent has generally risen in recent years, even though it dipped from 2017 to 2018.

What they're saying: "The higher level of concern Americans have exhibited about global warming since 2016, particularly in terms of worrying about the issue and believing it is caused by human activity, is largely intact this year," Gallup analysts said in a summary of the data.

• "One reason for this stability is that Americans' views on the issue are becoming increasingly partisan and therefore entrenched. With Trump reversing many of his predecessors' policies aimed at curbing global warming, Democrats are feeling a greater sense of urgency about the issue, while Republicans have either remained as skeptical as they had been in the past or have become more so," Gallup added.