Anthony Leiserowitz is the director of the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and a senior research scientist at Yale School of the Environment. An expert on public climate change and environmental beliefs, policy preferences, and behavior, he conducts extensive research and has published more than 200 pieces on these topics. He agreed to answer some of our questions before taking the stage at Aspen Ideas: Climate in a session called ‘Climate Change in the American Mind.’  

Tony, you conduct research on the American public on all levels. In recent years, what are some commonalities that have surprised you the most?

In 2021, we saw a large increase—to record highs—in public understanding that climate change is happening, affecting the weather, and harming people in the US. We think the signal of direct and vicarious experience of climate-enhanced extreme weather is starting to emerge out of the noise, including politics, surrounding the issue of climate change.

How is information being collected and shared about and for vulnerable populations, including the elderly and communities of color?

Our national surveys reveal the climate beliefs, attitudes, policy support, and behavior of diverse kinds of people across different ages, races and ethnicities, income levels, religions, and politics. In general, we find that the most vulnerable populations tend to perceive climate change as a greater risk to themselves, their families, and their communities.

In your research, you account for the importance of someone’s background—cultural, political, psychological—and how that impacts their decision-making. Is there data to show that one of these areas greatly informs the way someone understands climate change?

Human beings are complex—all of these factors and others, like geography, have large influences on how people understand the issue of climate change, how they perceive the risks, and what (if anything) they are doing to address it.

Read the full article about public understanding of climate change by Anthony Leiserowitz at The Aspen Institute.