Democrats & Republicans Poles Apart On Global Warming

Amid widespread international condemnation, U.S. President Donald Trump has announced that he is pulling the United States out of the 2015 Paris climate agreement. The leaders of France, Germany and Italy have issued a joint statement saying they regret the decision while affirming their commitment to continuing the global fight against climate change. Senior Republicans and coal industry officials have backed the president's decision, however.

According to a 2015 Pew Research Center survey, 86 percent of people in Brazil and 76 percent of people in India consider global warming a very serious problem. In the U.S., on the other hand, only 45 percent of respondents were seriously concerned. There is also a massive gulf in perception among Democrats and Republicans. Pew's polling found that 68 percent of Democrats think global warming is a very serious problem compared to just 20 percent of Republicans, a level of concern similar to respondents in Poland and China.