The influence of public opinion in government policymaking and the extent to which policy reflects public preferences are clearly important issues, and they are taken up in more detail in Chapters 4–8 in the context of discussions of policy issues. In this chapter the focus is on the substance of public perceptions of the problem of climate change (Section 3.1) and public preferences for government policies (Section 3.2): How much of a problem does the public perceive climate change to be? How have perceptions of the problem changed over time? What kinds of government policies does the public want and not want? The chapter also considers – in Section 3.3 – the factors that are related to those perceptions and preferences: What are the correlates that account for variations in public perceptions of the problem and preferences for solutions? The chapter explores – in Section 3.4 – public opinion as revealed in consumer behavior: Have people changed their behavior as consumers of climate-relevant products, especially concerning energy consumption and energy efficiency?

Section 3.5 concludes that individuals’ differences in ideology and party preference are key factors accounting for variations in their attitudes on a wide range of climate change questions. The extent to which these factors reflect underlying differences in economic interests – and perceptions of how climate change and responses to it will affect those interests – are open questions about the political economy of climate change.