--- title: Climate Change Education Politics: How Education Views on the Issue description: Around the world, people with higher levels of education are more likely to understand climate change than their less-educated counterparts canonical: https://time.com/3972986/climate-change-education/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-07-27T15:00:52.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:58:24.775Z article:section: Science og:title: Climate Change Education Politics: How Education Views on the Issue og:description: Around the world, people with higher levels of education are more likely to understand climate change than their less-educated counterparts og:url: https://time.com/3972986/climate-change-education/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt770a0180561deff4/69885c942dce015a439e4cc3/climate-change-protest.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4901 og:image:height: 2757 og:image:alt: climate change protest og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Climate Change Education Politics: How Education Views on the Issue twitter:description: Around the world, people with higher levels of education are more likely to understand climate change than their less-educated counterparts twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt770a0180561deff4/69885c942dce015a439e4cc3/climate-change-protest.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # This Factor Predicts What People Think About Climate Change > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Future Proof: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Future Proof is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Making sense of the climate and energy economy. Future Proof examines the forces transforming energy and climate, and what those changes mean for business, technology, policy and the global economy. Senior correspondent Justin Worland goes beyond traditional climate coverage to connect the energy transition to the bigger decisions reshaping companies, markets and society. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=b33e8756-650a-4b60-a1fe-80b85793eec2&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Friday (1x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Subscribers | 40,000 | TIME, August 2026 | | Open rate | 34.2% | TIME, August 2026 | | Click rate | 2.1% | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Justin Worland, Senior Correspondent | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership Senior leaders shaping the climate transition. 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It reaches 40,000 subscribers with a 34.2% open rate and a 2.1% click rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Is Climate Change Causing Extreme Weather? [Watch (HLS stream): Is Climate Change Causing Extreme Weather?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/LQufbOt9.m3u8) (2:04)  _Published 2013-11-11. Is the frequency of extreme weather events a sign that global warming is gaining pace and exceeding predictions? Climate scientist Bill Patzert explains._  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Jul 27, 2015 3:00 PM UTC  Close-up of global warming sign in city Close-up of global warming sign in city Getty Images  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Jul 27, 2015 3:00 PM UTC Around the world, people with higher levels of education are more likely to understand climate change than their less-educated counterparts, according to new research published in the journal _Nature Climate Change_. Using data collected by Gallup from 119 countries, researchers found that education level was a key determinant of climate change risk perceptions in 62% of countries around the world. But all bets are off when it comes to education and views of climate change in the United States, along with a select few English speaking countries. Political party and ideology predicted views of climate change in the U.S., not education alone. (Information on political ideology and climate change beliefs was not available for countries outside the U.S.) “\[For Americans\] just having higher education does not mean that you understand or accept the science,” says study co-author Anthony Leiserowitz, director of the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication. “\[Americans\] who have attained higher education are better at cherry picking evidence that seems to validate what we already believe.” **Read More**: [How the Recession Accidentally Helped the Planet](http://time.com/3966553/recession-emissions-decline/) Overall, different regions had vastly different levels of awareness of climate change. Two-thirds of people in Egypt, Bangladesh and Nigeria, for instance, had never heard of climate change, the study found. Still, many in developing countries who lacked formal knowledge of the concept said they had noticed changes in their local weather patterns indicative of climate change. The lack of climate change awareness in developing countries should be of particular concern because many of those countries have been deemed more vulnerable to environmental changes. “If you don’t know you’re at risk, you’re even more at risk because you can’t possibly be taking the actions to prepare,” says Leiserowitz. Global public awareness about climate change could also play a role in negotiations for a global treaty on climate change at a United Nations conference on the issue later this year. Public support for an agreement will help countries to follow through on commitments made at the summit, Leiserowitz said. “It won’t be some top-down commandment from a legally binding treaty from the UN making everybody do it,” he says. “It’s going to be national dynamics where each government commits to doing this and then they have to get people onboard to support those policies.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3972986/climate-change-education/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3972986/climate-change-education/"},"headline":"This Factor Predicts What People Think About Climate Change","datePublished":"2015-07-27T15:00:52.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:58:24.775Z","description":"Education affects climate change beliefs differently if you live in the U.S.","url":"https://time.com/3972986/climate-change-education/","keywords":["climate change"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt770a0180561deff4/69885c942dce015a439e4cc3/climate-change-protest.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt770a0180561deff4/69885c942dce015a439e4cc3/climate-change-protest.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"climate change protest","caption":"climate change protest","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/climate-change/","name":"climate change"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3972986/climate-change-education/","name":"This Factor Predicts What People Think About Climate Change"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Is Climate Change Causing Extreme Weather?","description":"Is the frequency of extreme weather events a sign that global warming is gaining pace and exceeding predictions? 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