Note: Yale School of the Environment (YSE) was formerly known as the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies (F&ES). News articles and events posted prior to July 1, 2020 refer to the School's name at that time.
A new national study finds that Latinos in the United States are more convinced global warming is happening and human-caused than their non-Latino counterparts. They are also more worried about it, supportive of climate change policies, and willing to take political action. Further, Spanish-language Latinos are more engaged with the issue than English-language Latinos.
The report, “Climate Change in the Latino Mind,” was released today by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication.
“A majority of Latinos are willing to join a campaign to convince elected officials to take action on climate change — yet most remain on the sidelines,” said lead researcher Anthony Leiserowitz of Yale University. “As such they represent a huge opportunity for the climate community to build public and political will for climate action.”
Key Findings
- More than eight in ten Latinos (84 percent) think global warming is happening, including nearly nine in ten Spanish-language Latinos (88 percent).
- Seven in ten Latinos (70 percent) understand global warming is mostly human caused, including three-quarters of Spanish-language Latinos (76 percent).
- Three in four Latinos (78 percent) are worried about global warming; one in three (35 percent) are "very worried", including 43% of Spanish-language Latinos, who are “very worried”.
- Three in four Latinos want corporations and industry (77 percent), citizens themselves (74 percent), President Trump (74 percent), and the U.S. Congress (73 percent) to do more to address global warming.
- Many Latinos are willing to take political action on global warming, including a majority who would vote for a candidate for public office because of their position on global warming (60 percent). A majority are also willing to join a campaign to convince elected officials to take action to reduce global warming (51 percent), including 61 percent of Spanish-language Latinos.
- Seven in ten Latinos (71 percent) have never been contacted by an organization working to reduce global warming.
Background
Results for Latinos are based on a nationally representative survey of Latinos in the U.S. conducted by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication on the GfK KnowledgePanel Latino®. Interview dates: May 18 – June 8, 2017. Interviews: 2,054 Latino adults (18+). Respondents chose whether to take the survey in English or Spanish. Results are reported for English- and Spanish-language preference according to respondents' survey language choice. The research was funded by the Heising-Simons Foundation.
Results for non-Latinos are based on findings from a nationally representative survey of U.S. adults – Climate Change in the American Mind – conducted by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication on the GfK KnowledgePanel®. Interview dates: May 18 – June 6, 2017. Interviews: 1,266 adults (18+), including the 1,140 non-Latinos used in this report. The research was funded by the 11th Hour Project, the Energy Foundation, the Grantham Foundation, and the MacArthur Foundation.
In addition to Anthony Leiserowitz, principal investigators included Seth Rosenthal and Matthew Cutler of Yale University.
For questions about the survey, please contact:
Anthony Leiserowitz, Ph.D, Director, Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, 203-432-4865, anthony.leiserowitz@yale.edu
For more information, please visit: Climate Change in the Latino Mind
Published
September 27, 2017