Americans Divided on Government's Role in Combating Climate Change Amid Devastating Floods

As catastrophic flooding in Texas has left over 100 people dead and many others missing, a recent AP-NORC poll shows that Americans are divided on the government's role in combating climate change, despite a majority believing the federal government should play a major role in tracking weather events and warning people about them. While most U.S. adults who have experienced major flooding in the past five years blame climate change as a partial cause, the polls indicate less consensus about whether the government should be involved in combating climate change to prevent extreme weather from worsening.

Key Takeaways:

About 2 in 10 Americans said they had experienced major flooding in recent years, according to the February poll.
Among those, about 7 in 10 said climate change was at least a partial cause of the recent weather events they had experienced.
7 in 10 Americans believe the federal government should have a "major role" in tracking weather events and warning people about them, according to AP-NORC polling from June.
About 8 in 10 Americans want the government to provide aid to affected communities and help with rebuilding efforts.
56% of U.S. adults say the government should have a key role in combating climate change to try to prevent extreme weather from worsening.
Democrats are more likely to support the government playing a major role in combating climate change, with 80% agreeing compared to 30% of Republicans.
Confidence in the National Weather Service was high before the floods, with 4 in 10 U.S. adults saying they were "extremely" or "very" confident in the agency.

Statistics:

2 in 10 Americans said they had experienced major flooding in recent years (Source: February AP-NORC poll).
7 in 10 of those who experienced major flooding blamed climate change as a partial cause (Source: February AP-NORC poll).
7 in 10 Americans believe the federal government should have a "major role" in tracking weather events and warning people about them (Source: June AP-NORC poll).
56% of U.S. adults say the government should have a key role in combating climate change to try to prevent extreme weather from worsening (Source: June AP-NORC poll).
8 in 10 Americans want the government to provide aid to affected communities and help with rebuilding efforts (Source: June AP-NORC poll).

Sources:

AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research (February poll)
AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research (June poll)