Serious threat

Poll: Fewer Americans see climate change as a serious threat

By Nick Gass

More than six in 10 Americans see climate change or global warming as a serious problem facing the United States, according to the results of the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll released Monday morning, on the same day leaders from around the world convened in Paris for a summit on environmental issues. But less than half say government should be doing more to blunt the effects of the environmental phenomenon.

While 63 percent of Americans found it to be a serious threat, that is a drop of 6 points in the last year and a half in the same survey. About 36 percent said it was not a serious problem. In June 2014, 69 percent called it a serious issue, compared to 29 percent who said it was not serious.

Along political lines, 81 percent of Democrats called it a serious issue, compared to just 43 percent of Republicans. Among independents, 62 percent said it was.

Asked whether the government should be doing more, less or the same, 47 percent said the government should do more, though far less than the 61 percent and the 70 percent who said the same in polls in 2008 and 2007, respectively. On a partisan basis, 65 percent of Democrats said leaders should do more, while just 22 percent of Republicans said the same, and 47 percent of independents responded that way.

Langer Research Associates conducted the poll via landlines and cellphones in English and Spanish from Nov. 16 to 19, surveying 1,004 adults nationwide. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.