A new study released by Potential Energy Coalition, with financial support from The Rockefeller Foundation, reveals strong support for climate solutions across six leading democracies, but highlights that the language used significantly impacts public backing. The research, titled Fixing Climate Communications, surveyed more than 83,000 adults across the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Canada. It found that messages focusing on shared concerns such as pollution, health, affordability, energy security, and protecting future generations increased support by more than 10 percentage points. Conversely, messages emphasizing bans, mandates, disruption, or 'net zero' consistently underperformed.

The study identifies three evidence-based principles for effective climate communication: leading with everyday consequences, making the cause concrete by framing it as pollution, and framing energy as additive rather than restrictive. After exposure to a single effective message built on these principles, support increased by at least 9 points in every country tested. The research also notes that roughly two-thirds of the global population supports immediate government action on climate change, with pro-climate messages prevailing 57% of the time in head-to-head competitions against opposition messages.

Key Findings by Country

The research provides a detailed breakdown of public opinion across the six nations surveyed, representing more than 40% of global gross domestic product (GDP) combined.

Methodology and Scope

The findings are based on two rounds of international research conducted between September and December 2025. The qualitative phase involved focus groups with 133 participants, while the quantitative phase included a national survey of approximately 42,000 respondents and a randomized controlled trial message test with approximately 41,100 respondents. The total sample size captures the views of 83,971 people worldwide. The study was commissioned by The Rockefeller Foundation's Build the Shared Future Initiative, with plans to expand research to additional countries including India, Brazil, and China in the coming months.

The Rockefeller Foundation today announced that more than $450 million in philanthropic, private, and public sector funding has been committed to expand opportunity for American communities nationwide during its Big Bets for America events over the past seven months. This includes more than $350 million committed in Cleveland alone to help underserved communities and people prosper across the city, state of Ohio, and beyond. The announcement was made during the third convening, Big Bets for America: Cleveland, which brought together more than 400 leaders, including Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb, and NBC TODAY Weather and Feature Anchor Al Roker.

Big Bets for America Initiative

Big Bets for America: Cleveland was the third in the convening series, launched in November 2025 in Oklahoma City and carried forward in April 2026 in Baltimore. Across all three convenings, The Rockefeller Foundation has brought together 1,200 leaders spanning policy, philanthropy, the private sector, and nonprofits. The initiative has mobilized more than $450 million to help people across the United States realize the American Dream, including more than $350 million for expanding opportunity in Cleveland and Ohio.

Key Financial Commitments

The following table outlines the major financial commitments announced during the convenings:

Strategic Impact and Future Outlook

The nearly half-billion commitment reflects a shared conviction that durable progress requires partners across all sectors willing to act at scale. In Cleveland, pro sports franchise owners, workforce development nonprofits, state economic development agencies, and AI entrepreneurs collaborated to address challenges facing American workers and families. The Rockefeller Foundation emphasized that convenings like these can spark action and change lives by moving from conversation to commitment faster than any single entity could alone.

Cleveland holds historical significance for The Rockefeller Foundation, as John D. Rockefeller launched his first business there in 1859 and co-founded Standard Oil in the city a decade later. The city remains a proving ground for ideas that scale, with world-class institutions like the Cleveland Clinic and Case Western Reserve University. The Big Bets for America initiative aims to build on this legacy by fostering inclusive, lasting growth through cross-sector partnerships.