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Television news coverage of climate policy is limited and polarized in the US
https://cires.colorado.edu/news/television-news-coverage-climate-policy-limited-and-polarized-usWednesday, May 20, 2026
CIRES-led research reveals two-thirds of US television news segments about climate change don’t mention policy at all
Two-thirds of Americans want action on climate change, but people vastly underestimate public support for climate solutions and policy.
Historically, U.S. news outlets overrepresented views on climate change that went against scientific consensus. If news outlets are similarly overrepresenting opposition to climate policy, it could explain the discrepancy between public support and perception.
A new CIRES-led study reveals that most television news segments about climate change don’t cover policy. The work, published this week in the journal Environmental Research Communications, shows that while the total percentage of news segments that support climate policy matches public opinion, some news networks are highly polarized in their coverage.
“This means that people might not hear anything about solutions when they hear about the climate crisis in the news,” said Ekaterina Landgren, who led the work as a lead author of the paper and former CIRES visiting fellow. “This in turn can shape what they think is normal or popular.”
…
Ekaterina Landgren et al 2026 Environ. Res. Commun. 8 051016
CIRES-led research reveals two-thirds of US television news segments about climate change don’t mention policy at all
Two-thirds of Americans want action on climate change, but people vastly underestimate public support for climate solutions and policy.
Historically, U.S. news outlets overrepresented views on climate change that went against scientific consensus. If news outlets are similarly overrepresenting opposition to climate policy, it could explain the discrepancy between public support and perception.
A new CIRES-led study reveals that most television news segments about climate change don’t cover policy. The work, published this week in the journal Environmental Research Communications, shows that while the total percentage of news segments that support climate policy matches public opinion, some news networks are highly polarized in their coverage.
“This means that people might not hear anything about solutions when they hear about the climate crisis in the news,” said Ekaterina Landgren, who led the work as a lead author of the paper and former CIRES visiting fellow. “This in turn can shape what they think is normal or popular.”
…
DOI 10.1088/2515-7620/ae6b10
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