Until recently, the U.S. and the rest of the developed world pursued a costly global policy of “net-zero” carbon emissions to battle the supposed ill-effect of climate change. But President Donald Trump has changed all that by ending the U.S.’ commitment to the global net-zero effort. Will today’s highly partisan voters support Trump? The latest I&I/TIPP Poll data suggest a high-degree of skepticism among many voters over global warming’s threat.
Three-quarters of those responding to the I&I/TIPP Poll agreed there are reasons for “public skepticism toward climate-change policies,” while just over a third of voting-age Americans say they themselves “distrust” the information used to sell previous climate-change policies.
For the national online poll, taken from Jan. 29-31, 1,478 adults were first asked: “How much do you trust the claims made by climate change activists and policymakers?” The poll has a margin of error of +/-2.6 percentage points.
While 50% said they either trust “completely” (20%) or “somewhat” (30%), another 36% said they “completely” (20%) or “somewhat” (16%) distrust claims made by climate activists and politicians.
Once again, political affiliation plays a role in how voters see the issue. Democrats overwhelmingly say “trust” (67%) over “distrust” (21%) the climate-change claims that have been made, but Republicans are more skeptical, with 37% answering “Trust” and a 51% majority answering “Distrust.” Among independents, responses were somewhere in the middle, at 47% ‘Trust” and 35% “Distrust.”
Trust in the climate claims rises with income. Of those earning $30,000 or less a year, “trust” was 46%; for those at $30,000-$50,000 a year, 47%; for those at $50,000-$75,000 a year, 51%; and for those over $75,000, 63%.
A follow-on question asked the following: “What do you think is the main reason for public skepticism toward climate change policies?”
The responses showed what really concerns people most about the public response to the hypothetical threats of climate change. Of those responding, 25% cited “Lack of clear, transparent scientific data,” 22% responded “Perceived hypocrisy of leaders and activists,” 17% agreed on “Economic consequences of proposed policies,” and 8% answered “Media exaggeration of climate risks.”
Meanwhile, only 8% said they don’t believe there’s widespread skepticism over climate change scientific claims, while 16% said they weren’t sure.
This is more than a gauge of sentiment about climate change policies in general and the “net zero” policy in particular.
For one thing, talking about making the world “carbon-neutral” by the middle of the century can take place on an abstract plane, but it will have enormous financial and economic consequences unparalleled in human history.
A recent study by the McKinsey Global Institute found: “Capital spending on physical assets for energy and land-use systems in the net-zero transition between 2021 and 2050 would amount to about $275 trillion, or $9.2 trillion per year on average, an annual increase of as much as $3.5 trillion from today.”
Opponents of such spending argue that’s an enormous expenditure, one that could impoverish billions of people on Earth for no actual provable gain. If you need a comparison, total global GDP last year, according to Statista, was roughly $110 trillion.
With that in mind, supporters say continued rises in temperatures could bring “severe storms, floods, drought, and wildfire,” along with permanent flooding of current coastal areas.
Americans don’t seem to buy the doom-and-gloom of such prognostications.
While every natural disaster has partisans claiming it’s caused by human-made CO2 in the air, American voters seem to feel that the message they’re getting through the media, politicians, government bureaucrats and NGOs is distorted by partisan, lock-step belief in the theory of runaway heating of the atmosphere.
Meanwhile, for nearly half a century the repeated predictions of doom and gloom from CO2-caused global warming “experts” have been stunningly wrong.
Not surprisingly, in poll after poll, many Americans say that while they believe climate change is real, it remains very low on their list of actual concerns. A recent poll by the Pew Research Center, for instance, asked Americans to rank 20 current national economic issues by whether they were a “very big problem.” Climate change ranked 17th out of 20.
The media have pushed a pro-global warming, “net-zero” message to their readers. But it’s not having much luck, perhaps because the public has greater faith in what Trump says than what the media says.
Indeed, a recent YouGov survey found that only 29% of Americans say they have a fair amount of “trust in the media to state the facts fully, accurately, and fairly,” compared to 44% for Trump.
Trump has effectively killed former President Joe Biden’s goal of “zero net emissions” by 2050. Instead, he’s pursuing drilling on hundreds of millions of acres of federal land, eased restrictions on appliance use, and withdrawn from the Paris Accords on climate, among other actions.
The goal: restore carbon-based fuels, which made the Industrial Revolution possible and removed billions of people from grinding poverty, to the center of our economy and to restore strong economic growth and low inflation.
These goals, of course, run afoul of the so-called global consensus on climate change, which Trump is intent on weakening, if not outright destroying.
As Trump wrote in his Executive Order withdrawing from the Paris Accords:
In recent years, the United States has purported to join international agreements and initiatives that do not reflect our country’s values or our contributions to the pursuit of economic and environmental objectives. Moreover, these agreements steer American taxpayer dollars to countries that do not require, or merit, financial assistance in the interests of the American people.”
In effect, Trump has declared the enormously costly war on climate change to be dead, while the era of fossil fuels to be very much alive. Whether they like it or not, those on the other side of this debate are likely to find that Americans are far more receptive Trump’s message than to theirs, as the I&I/TIPP poll demonstrates.
I&I/TIPP publishes timely, unique, and informative data each month on topics of public interest. TIPP’s reputation for polling excellence comes from being the most accurate pollster for the past six presidential elections.
Terry Jones is an editor of Issues & Insights. His four decades of journalism experience include serving as national issues editor, economics editor, and editorial page editor for Investor’s Business Daily.
TIPP Takes
Geopolitics, Geoeconomics, And More
1. Israel To Adopt Temporary Gaza Ceasefire Proposal For Ramadan And Passover - Reuters
Israel will adopt the proposal by President Donald Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza for the Ramadan and Passover periods, the prime minister’s office said, hours after the first phase of the previously agreed ceasefire expired.
On the first day of Witkoff’s proposal, half of the hostages held in Gaza, both alive and dead, will be released, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said, adding the remaining hostages will also be released after a permanent ceasefire was agreed.
2. Israel Blocks Entry Of All Humanitarian Aid Into Gaza - BBC
Israel has blocked the entry of all humanitarian aid into Gaza as it demands Hamas agree to a U.S. plan for a ceasefire extension. The first phase of the ceasefire expired on Saturday.
A Hamas spokesman said blocking supplies to Gaza was "cheap blackmail" and a "coup" on the ceasefire agreement and urged mediators to intervene. The Palestinian group wants phase two of the deal to go ahead as originally negotiated, with the release of hostages and Palestinian prisoners and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
3. Zelensky Thanks U.S., Wants Minerals Agreement - UPI
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the United States for supporting Ukraine in its defense against Russia and called for a minerals deal after verbally sparring with President Donald Trump on Friday.
"We are very grateful to the United States for all the support," Zelensky said Saturday morning in a post on X.
4. British Prime Minister Starmer Gives Zelenksy 'Full Backing,' Including $2.8 Billion Accelerated Loan - UPI
Posting on X in Ukrainian, Zelensky wrote: "This loan will enhance Ukraine's defence capabilities and will be repaid using revenues from frozen Russian assets. The funds will be directed toward weapons production in Ukraine. This is true justice - the one who started the war must be the one to pay.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said to his Ukrainian counterpart that "we stand with you and Ukraine for as long as it may take." On Sunday, Starmer is hosting a summit of European leaders to discuss the Russia-Ukraine war and other defense issues involving the continent.
5. Kremlin Says U.S. Foreign Policy Shift Aligns With Its Vision - AFP
The Kremlin said in remarks aired Sunday that the United States’s dramatic shift in foreign policy towards Russia largely aligned with its vision.
“The new administration is rapidly changing all foreign policy configurations. This largely coincides with our vision,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a reporter from state television in an interview recorded Wednesday.
6. Chinese Military Patrols Scarborough Shoal Amid Rising Tension - RFA
The Chinese military held a new combat readiness exercise around a flashpoint with the Philippines in the South China Sea, its Southern Theater Command said, adding to a number of such exercises that Beijing has been conducting in the region.
The command “organized naval and air forces to carry out combat readiness patrols in the territorial waters and airspace of China’s Huangyan Island and surrounding areas,” it said in a statement, referring to the disputed Scarborough Shoal by its Chinese name.
7. China Tells Its AI Leaders To Avoid U.S. Travel Over Security Concerns, WSJ Reports - Reuters
The Wall Street Journal reported that Chinese authorities are concerned that Chinese AI experts traveling abroad could divulge confidential information about the nation's progress.
Authorities also fear that executives could be detained and used as a bargaining chip in U.S.-China negotiations, the Journal said, drawing parallels to the detention of a Huawei executive in Canada at Washington's request during the first Trump administration.
8. Qatar Rejects ‘Baseless’ WSJ Claim It Blocked Mahmoud Abbas From Attending Riyadh Summit - Al Arabiya
Qatar has refuted claims published by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) that it opposed inviting Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to the recent Arab summit in Riyadh on the grounds that Hamas should also be in attendance.
The Gulf country’s official International Media Office released a statement calling the WSJ report “baseless and wholly irresponsible. " It added that the accusations “rely on hearsay and loosely sourced information from former officials and were not verified with the relevant parties.”
9. Cease-Fire Halts Decades-Old Conflict Between Turkey, Kurds - UPI
The militia wing of the Kurdistan Workers Party announced a cease-fire with immediate effect Saturday to halt decades of conflict between Turkey and the Kurds.
The cease-fire announcement comes two days after the jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party, which uses the acronym PKK, asked the militia to cease hostilities and dissolve the organization, CNN, the BBC and NPR reported. PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan called for the cease-fire while still imprisoned in Turkey.
10. South African Leader Wants To Do A Deal With Trump To Resolve Dispute - Reuters
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said that he wanted to "do a deal" with President Donald Trump to resolve a dispute over his country's land policy and genocide case against Israel at the World Court.
Trump issued an executive order this month cutting U.S. financial assistance to South Africa, citing disapproval of its approach to land reform and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) case against Washington's close ally.
11. Warren Buffett's Annual Letter Shares 4 Of The Most Chilling Words Investors Will Ever Witness - The Motley Fool
Although the Oracle of Omaha's annual shareholder letter is typically known for its unwavering optimism, Buffett's newly released letter contains four of the most chilling words investors will ever witness.
When discussing how he and his team invest Berkshire's capital under the "Where Your Money Is" subhead from the company's latest shareholder letter, Buffett bluntly notes, "Often, nothing looks compelling." These four chilling words turn Buffett's proverbial cards face-up for investors and plainly show that he's struggling to find value in a historically pricey stock market.
12. Finally For Homebuyers: 'A Step In The Right Direction' - Yahoo Finance
Homes are lingering on the market longer in many parts of the country, giving buyers more negotiating power and helping to keep prices down for the first time in years.
The shifting fortunes are the latest sign that the housing market may finally be exiting a deep freeze that started in mid-2022, when mortgage rates and home prices rapidly rose in tandem, pricing millions out of the market and sending home sales plummeting. Active listings in February were 27.5% higher than a year earlier. Price cuts are also on the rise, a sign that sellers are growing more motivated.
13. Softbank In Talks To Borrow $16 Billion To Fund AI, The Information Reports - Reuters
The Japanese technology investor - SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son - might borrow another $8 billion in early 2026, the report added.
The Information had previously reported that SoftBank was planning to invest a total $40 billion into Stargate and OpenAI and had begun talks to borrow up to $18.5 billion in financing, backed by its publicly-listed assets.
14. The SEC's Crypto Course Reversal - CoinDesk
The Securities and Exchange Commission has been busy over the past few weeks, hinting at a brighter future for crypto companies.
Over the last week and a change, the SEC filed to withdraw its case against crypto exchange Coinbase, pause its cases against Binance and Tron, and inform ConsenSys, OpenSea, Robinhood, Uniswap, and Gemini that it would close its cases or investigations into those platforms.
15. Poor Sleep Endangers Health Of Two-Thirds Of People In U.S. - HealthDay News
People not getting the right amount of sleep – seven to nine hours a night – had a 29% increased risk of premature death from any cause, researchers reported in JAMA Network Open.
"These findings provide new evidence that irregular sleep patterns over a five-year period may increase the risk of all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality," concluded the research team led by Kelsie Full.
