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Environment
Jun 17, 2026
Analyzed by Llama- 4 Scout 17B 16E Instruct

US Public Remains Concerned About Climate Change Despite Trump's Fossil Fuel Push

AI Summary
Despite a decline in media coverage and political attention, a significant majority of Americans remain concerned about climate change and support action to address it, according to experts and polling data.

The Enduring Concern of the American Public

US political and media discourse has drifted away from the climate crisis amid a frontal assault by Donald Trump upon policies to limit global heating and the president’s pugnacious demands to “drill, baby, drill” for more oil and gas.

Climate Change Polling Trends

Yet while elite attention on climate has waned, even among some previously vocal Democrats who have wound back on criticism of the fossil fuels that are overheating our planet, the American public remains concerned about the climate crisis and continues to favour action to deal with it, according to experts and polling.

  • About two-thirds of Americans say they are worried about the climate crisis, Yale’s longstanding climate polling has found.
  • This proportion has stayed consistent even as other topics such as the Iran war and inflation have dominated news cycles.

The Impact of Decreased Media Coverage

However, people in the US are hearing and reading less about climate change as the media shrinks its coverage of the issue, despite mounting heatwaves, droughts and other impacts that have roiled parts of the country.

  • Outlets including the Washington Post, NPR and CBS have also cut climate journalist positions.

Public Support for Climate Action

A majority of US voters now link rising costs in their lives to the climate crisis, Yale has found, despite this lack of coverage, with global dependence on oil resulting in higher gasoline costs as the Iran war dragged on.

  • A mere 7% of American voters say they would support a candidate who advocates decreasing the use of renewables, Yale’s polling has found.
  • Just 14% want a candidate who pushes for more fossil fuels.

The Future Outlook

The climate crisis has rarely been a headline political issue in the US, despite its worsening impacts, and progress in confronting global heating has been erratic, with landmark climate legislation under Joe Biden since unwound by Republicans in Congress.

  • Rising temperatures are already taking a significant toll upon Americans’ health and bank balances, via punishing heat, wildfire smoke and storms.