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Fewer in U.S. Believe in Man-Made Climate Change
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The proportion of Americans who believe global warming is a fact and is mostly caused by emissions from vehicles and industrial facilities has dropped considerably this year, according to a poll by Angus Reid Public Opinion. 44 per cent of respondents side with this argument, down seven points since July.
Conversely, 22 per cent of Americans believe global warming is happening but is mostly caused by natural changes, and 23 per cent think global warming is a theory that has not yet been proven.
The term global warming refers to an increase of the Earth’s average temperature. Some theories say that climate change might be the result of human-generated carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. In 2007, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report which states that global warming has been "very likely"—or 90 per cent certain—caused by humans burning fossil fuels.
In 1998, several countries agreed to the Kyoto Protocol, a proposed amendment to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The agreement commits nations to reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. The U.S. has not ratified the treaty, which is due to expire in 2012.
In October 2007, former U.S. vice-president Al Gore and the IPCC were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize "for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change."
The Copenhagen Climate Change Summit is scheduled to end on Dec. 18. Countries attending the summit are supposed to draft a new agreement to replace the Kyoto Protocol. U.S. president Barack Obama has said he will attend the summit.
On Dec. 14, Gore discussed the findings of new scientific work conducted at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, declaring, "Some of the models suggest that there is a 75 per cent chance that the entire north polar ice cap during some of the summer months will be completely ice-free within the next five to seven years."
Polling Data
Which of the following statements comes closest to your view of global warming (or climate change)?
|
Dec. 2009 |
Nov. 2009 |
Jul. 2009 |
|
|
Global warming is a fact and is mostly caused by emissions from vehicles and industrial facilities |
44% |
49% |
51% |
|
Global warming is a fact and is mostly caused by natural changes |
22% |
20% |
17% |
|
Global warming is a theory that has not yet been proven |
23% |
19% |
20% |
|
Not sure |
11% |
11% |
12% |
Source: Angus Reid Public Opinion
Methodology: Online interviews with 1,001 American adults, conducted on Dec. 8 and Dec. 9, 2009. Margin of error is 3.1 per cent.
