Paying for climate action

Americans aren’t eager to pay for protective climate change measures

This article was published on 04.04.13

While most Americans acknowledge the existence of climate change and agree it’s important to act now, most don’t support paying for protective measures such as building sea walls or relocating coastal communities. Here are the results of a recent survey of 1,174 American respondents compiled by Stanford University’s Woods Institute for the Environment and the Center for Ocean Solutions:

• 82 percent believe in the existence of climate change.

• More than 70 percent believe climate change will lead to a dangerous sea-level rise and more damaging storms.

• 30 percent support building sea walls.

• 33 percent support trucking in sand to replace beaches that have washed away in past storms.

• 37 percent support moving structures away from the coast.

• 80 percent said the cost of coastal protections should fall on those living in coastal communities.