These days it seems difficult to find common ground among Republicans and Democrats, but one thing we now know, Floridians overwhelming agree that climate change is happening and that the government is not doing enough to combat it.

According to FAU’s April 2020 Florida Climate Resilience Survey of over 1300 respondents, 89% believe climate change is happening, up from 86% in January.  Only 29% think the government is doing enough to address climate challenges, down from 33% in January.   The findings demonstrate that despite the COVID19 crises, climate change remains an important topic, one which public consensus is growing. While Democrats’ beliefs in climate change are a bit higher, at 89%, versus 86% for Republicans, the gap is narrowing. The percentage of Republicans believing that the climate is changing increased from 81% in January and 83% in October of 2019, to 86% in April 2020. The percentage of Independents believing in climate change also increased from 88% in January, to 92% in April. A little over 2/3 of respondents of all respondents have concerns about issues of environmental health and access to clean water.

While slight variations are to be expected because the quarterly random polling catches different types of residents during different times of the year, the trend is heartening. It suggests that  Florida residents are cognizant and concerned about climate issues, and want elected officials to address this cross-cutting community issue.  Click here to read more about the study’s findings and the finding from previous surveys.

Art Credit to Libertarian Party at LP.org