A new survey by EcoAlign examines consumers and climate change, demonstrating that while consumers understand what climate change is and that it needs to be addressed, consensus breaks down over what to do, how to pay for it and the role of government. With 1000 online interviews, the survey finds that gender, income level, age, education and political affiliation all impact opinions on how to solve the climate crisis.

• 72% of Americans see reducing climate change as important, very important or extremely important, with 50% falling into the latter two categories.
• 41% of Americans are "worried" about climate change, with an 11-point difference between men and women.
• While 53% don't believe that they can personally impact climate change, 46% of those surveyed believe individual citizens have the primary responsibility to reduce climate change.
• Nearly one third of Americans believes that no utility bill increase is necessary to manage climate change, and another 44 percent say less than 10 percent. A 16-point difference exists between Republicans and Democrats on the nation's ability to pay the costs of climate change.
• One third of Americans (45 percent of Republicans) would be very dissatisfied if they had to pay 10 percent more for electricity to address climate change.
• Nearly one third believe that any additional tax revenue should be spent on R&D for alternative and clean sources of energy.
• 61% agree that polluters should pay first for solving the climate crisis.

Some of these results would indicate that while the environmental movement has done a good job of raising awareness about climate change, we have fallen short in terms of guidance on changes in consumption habits that can make a real difference and the importance of incremental changes. There also seems to be a disconnect between the understanding that there is a climate crisis and the understanding of what impact that will have on individuals. Much education needs to take place before we can expect consumers to pay more for energy in order to mitigate the climate crisis, or even change their own behavior.

Additionally, political affiliation, age and gender all impact beliefs about government's ability to pay for the costs of addressing climate change. Democrats and young men are more likely to believe that government can pay the costs while young women disagree. Americans don't seem to see a link between energy prices and climate change. 32% don't believe that energy prices will need to increase to manage climate change and another 44% believe any price change will be under 10%. Again, political affiliation, gender and age all seem to impact these beliefs. It also impacts whether one believes government should administer funds to address climate change, with Democrats preferring a government role.

And the diversity of opinion continues.

Starting with terminology, the study finds that people making under $50,000 and without a college degree are more likely to associate climate change with weather. The correlation with weather is a problem when it comes to climate change. When weather patterns are not recognized as being significantly different (regardless of reality, it is about what people perceive) then the problem can seem less urgent.

More Democrats than Republicans associate climate change with the environment so broad discussions about saving the environment may not encourage bipartisan support. At the same time, Democrats (53%) are far more likely to be worried about climate change than Republicans (27%).

The good news is that women are more concerned about climate change than men. This is significant since women make the majority of household purchasing decisions. They are also a group that responds well to discussions about health impacts and impacts on their children's lives. Messaging directed at them needs to demonstrate personal impacts of climate change on them and their children, and personal actions they can take to mitigate it. They are also ripe for measures that save money through efficiency and conservation, since they are often responsible for maintaining the family budget.

The study finds that "when asked to compare two discrete pairings of alternative actions that they personally could take to impact climate change, respondents consistently chose options to save or use less than options associated with paying more for green products and services." This is reflected in the following findings of what people are and are not willing to do:

• Drive less (51 percent) versus buy a more efficient car (49 percent).
• Use less energy in your home (56 percent) versus buy more energy efficient appliances (44 percent)
• Buy climate credits to maintain lifestyle (6 percent) versus reduce energy consumption (94 percent)
• Pay more for green products (19 percent) versus use less of products that cause climate change (94 percent)
• Pay higher electricity prices (12 percent) versus invest in renewable energy at your home (88 percent)
• Carpool (77 percent) versus pay higher fees or tolls to drive your own car (23 percent)
• Buy branded products sold nationally that have been certified to be climate friendly (40 percent) versus buy locally (60 percent)
• Recycle (92 percent) versus buy products that have organic packaging but cost more (8 percent), demonstrating that the concept of recycling is well understood and that there is a clear connection between recycling behavior and climate change

A campaign that demonstrates the emissions reductions from conservation efforts could be very effective in changing behavior. People are willing to be inconvenienced rather than pay more. Further, a campaign to "make choices visible and tangible to local communities" is important.

We need to move beyond light bulbs. Messaging on solving climate change should focus on issues that matter to a wide range of consumers; health, lifestyle and saving money, but also be tailored and directed at influencers within various demographic and psychographic groups. The good news is that we have moved beyond proving the science of climate change. The challenge is that in order to talk about solving it, we will need many messages, tailored at different groups with different trigger points for action. But that people are ready for action, even if they don't know what that will be, is progress.