As the United States goes to the polls to elect a new president, a new study has found that more than a quarter (27%) of US citizens believe that environment and climate protection will be the ‘most critical’ challenge to overcome in the near future.
The study, by the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions (NIM), asked US citizens for their primary concerns in the short-term (i.e in 2024), and in the coming five to ten years.
Immediate concerns
Unsurprisingly, given its central focus during both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris‘ election campaigns, actions to tackle the cost of living crisis ranks highest in terms of short-term concerns, cited by 43% of respondents.
This is followed by immigration, another hot-button issue, which was cited by 36% of respondents. Environment/climate protection was cited by just under a fifth (19%) as an immediate concern.
However, when it comes to concerns over the next five to ten years, climate protection comes out on top, ahead of crime and security (22%), the ‘general economic situation’ (21%), purchasing power (20%) and immigration (19%).
‘Conscious of future challenges’
“These results clearly show that Americans have a cautious eye on the future and are conscious of future challenges that are on the way, but that it’s all too easy for those future challenges to be drowned out by the seemingly more pressing issues that are having a tangible impact on their lives today,” commented Tobias Biro, study director, NIM.
“Food prices in the supermarket provide an unavoidable benchmark for the cost of living that Americans can see every day, however the less visible threats that might come from climate are not escaping their attention.”
The study also found that over the past two years, the number of Americans placing climate as a current concern has actually dropped, from 25% to 19%, while immigration increased sharply, from 24% to 36%.
The survey of close to 2,000 US citizens was taken in July 2024, as part of NIM’s Challenges of Nations study. Read more here.
Earlier this year, US senator Bernie Sanders warned that the fight against climate change will be “over” if Donald Trump gets re-elected, warning of “irreversible implications for the future habitability of our planet”.
“Not only does Donald Trump believe climate change is a hoax, but he has and will once again appoint agency leaders and judges who will undermine our ability to move to an energy efficiency and sustainable energy,” Sanders noted in a speech on his Facebook and Twitter pages.
Read more: Harris vs Trump and the effect on the sustainability agenda in the U.S.
