Since the election of Donald Trump as president, climate change has rushed to the front of the news because of Trump's pledges to wipe away major US attempts to address it. Of particular concern to scientists and environmentalists around the world is Trump's vow to "cancel" US participation in the Paris climate agreement, negotiated by nearly 200 countries late last year and the foundation for a global push to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, country by country.
It turns out that the majority of Americans are at odds with the Republican president-elect over the Paris accord. A new survey released by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs on Monday suggests that if Trump were to actually keep his word and withdraw from the agreement, that move might not be very popular here in the United States. The survey of 2,061 Americans, conducted in June, finds that 71 per cent support the Paris deal, including 57 perc ent of Republicans. It's a notable finding on a topic so new that not all Americans may have even heard of it.
The finding, notes the Chicago Council, comports with Americans' longstanding general support for international climate treaties, but they also somewhat mask deep disagreement about the reality and severity of climate change that persists between Democrats and Republicans.
Those differences reappeared when respondents were asked whether they agreed that climate change is "a serious and pressing problem" that should be addressed even if there are "significant costs". 62 per cent of Democrats agreed with that statement, while only 19 per cent of Republicans agreed.
Dina Smeltz, an opinion researcher and senior fellow with the Chicago Council who is lead author of the report on the survey results, said that the way to reconcile the two findings involves the different priority that Democrats and Republicans place on the climate issue.