Millennials overwhelmingly support action to fight human-caused climate change, according to a new poll sponsored by the conservative nonprofit Alliance for Market Solutions (AMS).
More than three out of four (77 percent) young voters think we should try to stop or slow climate change, including 89 percent of Democrats, 77 percent of independents, and 57 percent of Republicans. Only 10 percent of millennial voters oppose climate action.
The poll, conducted by Echelon Insights for AMS, surveyed 800 registered voters ages 18 to 35, including 400 Republicans. Echelon supplemented this polling with focus groups of center-right millennials in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The AMS survey found that almost nine of 10 millennials (88 percent) understand that climate change is happening “and the vast majority of those (62 percent) believe that climate change is being driven by human activity,” which is the overwhelming view of climate scientists.
Millennials’ concern about climate change matches that of the broader public. In a March 2017 poll, Gallup found that Americans’ concern about global warming had reached a reach a record high under Trump.
And earlier this month Gallup reported that Americans’ dissatisfaction with the quality of the environment is at an all-time high, with 45 percent saying they were satisfied with “the quality of the environment in the nation,” while 52 percent said they were dissatisfied.
Unsurprisingly, the millennials surveyed for AMS believe the country is headed “off on the wrong track” (57 percent) by more than a two-to-one margin over those who think we are “headed in the right direction” (27 percent). The upcoming midterm elections in November could prove a crucial moment to see whether such dissatisfaction drives young voters to the polls.