Montana voters assign feds, fossil fuel industry most responsibility for tackling climate change

This piece is part of MTFP’s 2026 poll week, where we’re exploring data on how Montana voters feel about their elected officials, environmental concerns, immigration enforcement and other issues.

A strong majority of Montana voters said they believe the federal government and fossil fuel companies bear at least some responsibility for responding to climate change, according to a Montana Free Press-Eagleton poll conducted in Late December and early January.

Poll respondents were presented with a list of six different groups and asked how much responsibility they believe each group has for addressing climate change, with response options ranging from “a lot” to “none at all.” Nearly half of respondents said the federal government and fossil fuel companies should shoulder “a lot” of the responsibility for addressing climate change, compared to roughly one-quarter who said the same about individuals and local governments. 

The poll results come as climate change is driving warmer temperatures, shrinking snowpacks, dwindling streamflows and longer, more intense wildfire seasons across Montana.

The poll also asked respondents how concerned they are, if at all, about human-caused climate change in Montana. Nearly half, 49%, indicated they were “very” or “somewhat” concerned. About one-third of the poll respondents indicated that they were “not very” or “not at all” concerned. The remainder responded that they don’t know or do not believe in human-caused climate change.

There is longstanding and widespread scientific consensus that human activity is contributing to the earth’s warming atmosphere through the release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. In the poll of Montana voters, 12% reported that they do not believe in human-caused climate change.

Polling also found that Montanans’ views on the seriousness of climate change varied by age group.

The youngest were most likely to report that they were “very” concerned about climate change, with 43% of respondents in the 18 to 36 category making that assessment.

In contrast, nearly 20% of those aged 50-64 told pollsters they do not believe in human-caused climate change. That compares to 8% of respondents in the 18-36 category.

What, if anything, Montana’s elected officials and government agencies should do to respond to climate change has played a prominent role in policy debates in recent years. 

The Montana Supreme Court in 2024 upheld a lower court’s ruling finding that the state Constitution’s right to a “clean and healthful environment” includes the right to a “stable climate system.” As part of that ruling, the court directed state agencies such as the Montana Department of Environmental Quality to analyze and disclose climate impacts when they conduct environmental reviews of large energy projects like NorthWestern Energy’s recently constructed gas generation plant in Laurel.

Montana’s Republican-controlled legislature bristled at the court order, passing a law last year specifying that state agencies should disclose direct greenhouse gas emissions on an “informational” basis, but they must not “regulate” them. Later that year, the same young Montanans whose victory in the Held v. Montana lawsuit spurred the Legislature to pass the bill sued the state over it, arguing that the Legislature’s directive to state agencies does not comply with the spirit of the court’s ruling. The lawsuit is currently before a state district court judge in Cascade County.

The MTFP-Eagleton poll surveyed 801 registered voters through telephone interviews and text-to-web questionnaires. Data was collected from Dec. 23, 2025 to Jan. 3, 2026. The poll, which was weighted to reflect the demographics of the state’s voters, has an overall margin of error of plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.

This piece is part of the Montana Insights project, which is commissioning rounds of polling to help MTFP readers understand public sentiment on key Montana policy issues. Further findings from the Dec. 2025-Jan. 2026 poll are available here.