Extreme Weather Events Impact Americans’ Views About Climate Change Action

According to a new NPR/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation/Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health poll, facing extreme weather events is impacting Americans’ views about the need for climate change action.

Nationally, adults who report they have been personally affected by extreme weather events in the past five years are currently more likely to see climate change in the United States as a crisis or a major problem (77%) compared with those who have not been affected by such events (46%).

The poll, The Impact of Extreme Weather on Views About Climate Policy in the United States, was conducted March 31 – May 8, 2022, among 2,646 US adults ages 18 and older.

On a range of policy measures, public support for government climate action is higher among US adults who have been personally affected by extreme weather events in the past five years than those who have not. This includes higher support for stricter federal fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks (71% to 53%), regulations to make the electricity grid more resistant to extreme weather (64% to 47%), and increased state government spending to prepare for future weather disasters (63% to 39%).

In the current period of high inflation, the public largely favors policies seen as having less of a direct impact on their own financial situation. When faced with two broad policy choices—limiting carbon emissions and fortifying infrastructure to protect against weather disasters—there is generally higher public support for policies aimed at protecting against future weather disasters (eg, 57% support increased state spending to prepare for future weather disasters ) compared with reducing carbon emissions to limit climate change (eg, only 39% support a carbon tax if it substantially increases their energy prices).

Notable examples of high public support for proposals seen as having a limited impact on the financial situation facing households are federal government requirements to reduce carbon emissions from power plants (78% support) and stricter federal fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks (67% support ). However, even though it might hurt US efforts to limit climate change, 62% of the public still thinks the government should allow oil producers to drill for more oil in the US to try to help lower gasoline prices in the future.

“Facing extreme weather has had a substantial impact on millions of Americans, who have had serious property damage, health, and financial consequences,” said Robert Blendon, co-director of the survey and Richard L. Menschel Professor of Public Health and Professor of Health Policy and Political Analysis, Emeritus at Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health. “Experiencing these weather disasters has had a real impact on the public’s support for policies to prepare against future weather disasters, and to a lesser extent, support for policies to limit climate change by reducing carbon emissions.”

When it comes to serious health problems, among the 78% of US households experiencing extreme weather events in the past five years, 24% reported facing serious health problems as a result, 17% reported serious financial problems, 14% reported evacuating from their home , and 14% reported major home or property damage. In addition, when it comes to serious health problems faced by households as a result of extreme weather, 51% of Native Americans who have experienced extreme weather in the past five years said their households have faced serious health problems as a result, while 31% of Latino adults, 30% of Asian adults, 29% of Black adults, and 18% of White adults said this.

View the complete poll findings at Harvard