Most Americans report having personally experienced the effects of extreme weather, according to new survey data from the Annenberg Public Policy Center.
More than 6 in 10 people favor increased investment in energy-efficient public transit and an equal number support providing tax credits to families who install rooftop solar or battery storage, according to the nationally representative panel survey, fielded in November 2023 with over 1,500 U.S. adults.
Two-thirds of U.S. adults say that in the past year their typical daily activities were affected either sometimes, often, or frequently by extreme outdoor heat, and half say that their typical daily activities were affected sometimes, often, or frequently by poor air quality resulting from wildfire smoke.
Importantly, an analysis finds a connection between these reported experiences and policy support: Exposure to extreme weather is associated with support for a half-dozen policies intended to mitigate the effects of climate change, policies that are contained in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.
The findings were released at an opening session of the Society of Environmental Journalists’ (SEJ) 33rd annual conference, which was held at Penn. Penn’s Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) hosted the group in celebration of the Penn Center for Science, Sustainability, and the Media.
“We’ve traditionally assumed that experiencing a threat will affect policy preferences,” says APPC director Kathleen Hall Jamieson. “In this polarized time, on this polarized topic, that assumption holds true. People who report exposure to extreme weather are more supportive of measures to help address climate change.”
The survey, the 17th wave of a nationally representative panel of 1,538 U.S. adults, finds that millions of Americans report that extreme weather has affected their daily lives over the past year.
Read more at Annenberg Public Policy Center.
