Survey: Australians, Americans and Climate Change

A major survey on Australian attitudes to climate change compared with those of Americans showing that climate change is a “wedge” issue in both countries.

Professor Simon Jackman said the survey results showed that climate change is a “wedge” issue in both countries, but the Rudd government has bigger incentives than the Obama administration to pass legislation because Australians are on average greener than Americans.“The partisan divide on climate change is big in Australia but even bigger in the US”, said Professor Jackman. He added “The centre-right hold views on climate change that are at odds with mainstream opinion in both countries, but Americans are just less committed to fighting climate change than Australians”.