In Focus: Perceptions of Environmental Justice

Lower-income communities tend to be more vulnerable to the effects of climate change than wealthier communities. Yet 47 percent of Americans—including lower-income Americans—are unaware of this disparity. In this In Focus video, Stanford University Professor and Resources for the Future (RFF) University Fellow Jon Krosnick discusses new polling that examines Americans’ awareness of environmental injustice, along with how this awareness informs support for policies that help lower-income communities adapt to climate change.

These polling data make up the fourth report in the Climate Insights 2024 series. Since 1997, Krosnick and other RFF researchers have tracked views held by Americans about climate change as part of the Climate Insights survey project. Find out how these views have changed over time.