Dear Friends,
 
We are pleased to announce a new Climate Note on public support for and willingness to engage in non-violent civil disobedience for climate action.
Social movements (e.g., anti-war, civil rights, labor, environmental) and leaders (e.g., the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, Rosa Parks) have historically used non-violent civil disobedience (e.g., sit-ins, blockades) as a powerful tool to build political power and motivate corporate or government action. In recent years, non-violent civil disobedience has been used to promote climate action.

In September 2021, we asked Americans about their willingness to support an organization engaging in non-violent civil disobedience against corporate or government activities that make global warming worse and their willingness to personally engage in such non-violent civil disobedience themselves. So, who is most willing to support and/or personally engage in non-violent civil disobedience? Here we examine how this willingness varies across different groups including Global Warming’s Six Americas, generations, and the three largest racial/ethnic groups in the United States.

Overall, we find that the Alarmed, younger people, and people of color are the most likely to support organizations and personally engage in acts of non-violent civil disobedience.