The US public strongly supported a global climate policy to manage warming, as reported by PTI. Around 70 per cent of Americans showed” strong and genuine” support for global climate policy.
This overwhelming backing shows a stark contrast between the views of ordinary people and those in power.
This finding comes as US President Donald Trump pulled out of the Paris Agreement shortly after his inauguration on January 20, 2025. He argued that the agreement does not reflect the country’s values or its contributions to the pursuit of economic and environmental objectives.
70% of Americans surveyed support Global Climate Policy
The survey was co-authored by researchers at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany. It has a sample size of over 40,000 people from 20 countries, which account for about three-quarters of the global carbon emissions.
According to PTI, a second survey, conducted in 2023 among 8,000 people in the US and the European Union, showed that the respondents supported a fixed timeline for carbon pricing, with, for example, USD 90 per tons of carbon dioxide in 2030, and a per capita reimbursement of USD 30 per month for every adult worldwide.
“When asked ‘at which level(s) do you think public policies to tackle climate change need to be put in place? 70% of the US people chose the global level,” the authors wrote and PTI reported.
Trump calls climate change an ‘expensive hoax’
Since Trump’s first tenure as the US president in 2017, Trump has repeatedly hinted at not believing in climate change. He has said earlier that climate change is “mythical”, “nonexistent” and just “an expensive hoax,” as reported by BBC.
Other than withdrawing from the Paris Agreement, which committed the US and 187 other countries to keeping rising global temperatures below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels, Trump has also taken a series of measures that have drawn criticism from environmentalists.
He replaced President Barack Obama’s Clean Power Plan, which would have limited carbon emissions from coal and gas-fired power plants, with the Affordable Clean Energy rule, which had weaker regulations, as reported by BBC.
In another instance, he attempted to freeze the fuel efficiency standards imposed on new vehicles, and prevent California from setting its own emissions rules, BBC said.
What is global climate policy?
Global climate policy refers to the initiatives and actions taken by governments, international organisations, and other entities to address the issue of climate change which is a global phenomenon.
It involves a wide range of measures such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to the implications of a changing climate. It often includes international agreements and collaborations.