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Aug 29, 2019 - Energy & Environment

Democrats spur rising worries about climate change

Ben Geman
A chart showing the discussed data.
Data: Pew's July 10-15 survey on 1,502 adults, with a margin of error of ±3.0 percentage points for U.S. adults and ±4.4 percentage points for Republicans/lean Republican and Democrats/lean Democrat; Chart: Axios Visuals.

Pew Research Center data shows that public concern about climate change has risen over the last 6 years — but the angst isn't exactly shared across political lines.

Why it matters: The latest survey comes as Democratic White House hopefuls are floating expansive (and expensive) climate platforms, while the Trump administration is continuing efforts to unwind Obama-era policies.

What they found: The percentage of adults polled in July who agree climate change is a "major threat" to the well-being of the U.S. has risen significantly to 57%, compared to 40% in 2013.

The bottom line: That's largely because Democrats are getting more concerned.

Go deeper: Read Pew's full report

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