Environmental Polling Roundup – April 11, 2025
Headlines
Gallup – Americans continue to prefer clean energy over fossil fuels, despite a recent surge in support for fossil fuels among Republicans; public support for nuclear energy is at a near-record high [Article]
Gallup – A steady one-half of Americans say that they’re open to purchasing an electric vehicle; hybrids have more appeal than fully electric vehicles, especially among Republicans [Article]
Fossil Free Media + Data for Progress – Trump’s executive order to shield polluters from accountability runs counter to public opinion, as bipartisan majorities say that fossil fuel companies should help pay for climate damages and voters widely oppose legal immunity for the industry [Article, Crosstabs]
[AAPI] AAPI Data + AP-NORC – Climate change is one of Democrats’ clearest issue strengths with AAPI Americans, who widely disapprove of Trump’s handling of the issue [Website, Report, Topline]
Key Takeaways
Support for nuclear energy is continuing to rise, with every political group shifting more in favor of it in recent years. For the past several years, Americans’ energy attitudes have been defined by a growing partisan divide as Democrats resolutely prioritize solar and wind energy and Republicans have trended against these clean energy sources in favor of fossil fuels.
Nuclear energy has become something of a middle ground in the debate over the country’s energy choices, with growing support from across the political spectrum. Gallup finds that support for nuclear energy as an electricity source is at a near-record high in their tracking going back to 2001, as support for it has risen sharply among Republicans and independents and also incrementally among Democrats as carbon emissions have become the dominant factor in progressives’ energy preferences.
Trump risks alienating even his own voters by shielding fossil fuel companies from accountability. For the most part, Trump has pursued energy policies that are unpopular overall but supported by most Republican voters–such as expanding offshore drilling and withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement. However, with his recent attempt to grant legal immunity to polluters via executive order this week, he is further narrowing the constituency for his energy policies.
It’s possible that Trump’s base will warm to the idea of polluter immunity in the same way that they have adopted other unpopular positions that Trump has taken, but the idea has remarkably little baseline appeal. Fossil Free Media and Data for Progress find that only around one-quarter of voters, including less than half of Republicans, support the idea of granting legal immunity to oil and gas companies to “shield them from being sued for climate disaster damages.” To the contrary, the overwhelming majority of voters–including most Republicans–continue to say that oil and gas companies should pay a share of costs for climate-related damages.
Good Data Points to Highlight
- [Clean Energy] By a 17-point margin, Americans say that the U.S. should emphasize the development of alternative energy such as wind and solar power to solve the nation’s energy problems (56%) rather than the production of more oil, gas and coal supplies (39%) [Gallup]
- [ANWR] By a 26-point margin, Americans say that the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska should not be opened up for oil exploration (35% should / 61% should not) [Gallup]
- [Polluter Accountability] 82% of voters, including 70% of Republicans, are concerned about oil and gas companies making record profits while consumers face rising energy costs [Fossil Free Media + Data for Progress]
- [Polluter Accountability] 71% of voters, including the majority of Republicans (55%), support requiring oil and gas companies to pay a share of costs for climate-related damages [Fossil Free Media + Data for Progress]
- [Polluter Accountability] By a 38-point margin (65% oppose / 27% support), voters oppose legal immunity for oil and gas companies that would shield them from being sued for climate disaster damages [Fossil Free Media + Data for Progress]
- [Paris Climate Agreement] Americans disapprove of the decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement by a 14-point margin (32% approve / 46% disapprove) [Pew]
Full Roundup
Gallup – Americans continue to prefer clean energy over fossil fuels, despite a recent surge in support for fossil fuels among Republicans; public support for nuclear energy is at a near-record high [Article]
Americans continue to prefer clean energy over fossil fuels, despite recent tightening. Most Americans (56%) say that emphasizing the “development of alternative energy such as wind and solar power” is the better approach for the nation’s energy problems than emphasizing “production of more oil, gas and coal supplies” (39%).
However, the margin in favor of renewables has tightened considerably in recent years. Americans’ preference for clean energy over fossil fuels reached a high of 73% in Gallup surveys conducted in 2016 and 2018, but declined to 59% in 2023 and is now at its lowest point in Gallup’s fourteen-year tracking.
Republican support for fossil fuels has reached a new high, positioning them far away from the center of the electorate on the issue. The dip in Americans’ preference for clean energy is driven by Republicans, 79% of whom now say that the U.S. should prioritize fossil fuels–a record high in Gallup’s tracking. This is likely a case of rank-and-file Republican voters following Trump’s lead as he has become more aggressive in expanding oil and gas production.
By contrast, 92% of Democrats say that the country should prioritize clean energy sources. Independents also favor clean energy over fossil fuels by a wide margin (61% clean energy / 32% fossil fuels), leaving Republicans far apart from the rest of the country in their energy preferences.
A growing majority of Americans favor the use of nuclear power for electricity. One of the clearest trends in Americans’ energy attitudes over recent years is their increasing support for nuclear power. Gallup finds that 61% of Americans now favor the use of nuclear energy for electricity, which is the highest level since 2010 and a 17-point increase since 2016 (44%).
Growing support for nuclear energy is driven primarily by Republicans (74%, +21 since 2016) and independents (64%, +19 since 2016). And while only around half of Democrats (46%) favor the use of nuclear energy, support among Democrats has also grown by double digits since 2016 (+12).
Americans are sharply divided on fossil fuel extraction as only around half support hydraulic fracturing or increasing offshore drilling. Consistent with the partisan divide in preferences between clean energy and fossil fuels, Americans are closely split over increasing offshore drilling for oil and gas in U.S. coastal areas (50% favor / 46% oppose) and using hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” as a means of increasing the production of natural gas and oil in the U.S. (45% support / 48% oppose).
These policies are both deeply politically polarizing, drawing support from around four-fifths of Republicans and opposition from around four-fifths of Democrats. Independents’ attitudes generally fall closer to Democrats’ on these issues, as independents oppose both the expansion of offshore drilling (43% favor / 52% oppose) and the use of fracking (40% favor / 49% oppose) by nine-point margins.
The idea of opening up ANWR for oil exploration remains deeply unpopular. While the public is somewhat open to expanding drilling in coastal areas, most say that the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge should be off-limits. Only around one-third (35%) believe that the area should be opened up for oil exploration, while around three in five (61%) say that it shouldn’t. Yale and George Mason similarly found a wide margin of opposition to drilling in ANWR late last year.
Gallup – A steady one-half of Americans say that they’re open to purchasing an electric vehicle; hybrids have more appeal than fully electric vehicles, especially among Republicans [Article]
Interest in EVs has held steady over the last year. Roughly half of Americans (51%) now say that they would consider purchasing an EV, including 3% who report that they already own one, 8% who say that they are “seriously” considering one, and 40% who “might” consider one in the future.
While Gallup found an eight-point drop in Americans’ openness to EVs between 2023 (59%) and 2024 (51%), interest appears to have stabilized over the past year.
While demographics such as age and education are linked to EV interest, political beliefs overshadow every other factor. Interest in EVs is relatively higher among younger Americans aged 18-34 (64%) and college graduates (61%), and lower than average among Americans aged 55+ (41%) and those without college degrees (46%).
These differences by demographics, however, pale in comparison to the differences by partisanship: Democrats (71%) are 40 points more likely than Republicans (31%) to express interest in EVs, as the rise of Elon Musk as Trump’s chief counselor appears to have done little to change the cultural politics around electric vehicles in general.
Hybrids hold considerably more appeal than purely electric vehicles, especially among Republicans. For the first time in their tracking polling about EVs, Gallup also included a question about interest in hybrids.
They find considerably higher interest in hybrid vehicles (65%) than purely electric ones (51%), largely because Republicans seem to find hybrids much more palatable. While large majorities of Democrats say that they would be interested in either an EV (71%) or hybrid vehicle (77%), the difference for Republicans is stark: most Republicans (55%) express interest in hybrid vehicles, compared to just 31% who say that they would consider an EV.
Fossil Free Media + Data for Progress – Trump’s executive order to shield polluters from accountability runs counter to public opinion, as bipartisan majorities say that fossil fuel companies should help pay for climate damages and voters widely oppose legal immunity for the industry [Article, Crosstabs]
Voters across party lines agree that fossil fuel companies should be held responsible for climate-related damages after misleading the public. Around seven in ten voters (69%), including nearly nine in ten Democrats (87%), two-thirds of independents (68%), and half of Republicans (52%), agree with the following statement:
“Oil and gas companies knew about climate change impacts but misled the public. These companies should pay for climate-related damages.”
Accordingly, the overwhelming majority of voters (71% support / 23% oppose) say that they support “requiring oil and gas companies to pay a share of costs for climate-related damages”–including majorities of Democrats (86%), independents (74%), and Republicans (55%).
Legal immunity for oil and gas companies is unpopular across the political spectrum. Given their broad, cross-partisan support for greater polluter accountability, voters react negatively to the idea of shielding oil and gas companies from lawsuits over climate damages–as Trump has attempted via executive order this week.
Nearly two-thirds of voters (65%) say that they oppose “legal immunity for oil and gas companies, shielding them from being sued for climate disaster damages.” Meanwhile, just 27% support the idea of granting immunity to oil and gas companies for climate damages–including less than half of Republicans (41% support / 49% oppose) and only one in five independents (20% support / 71% oppose).
Voters believe that Trump’s energy policies are favoring oil and gas companies more than working Americans, but express some hope that this will change. When asked to choose who Trump’s energy policies benefit most, voters are twice as likely to say that his policies mostly benefit oil and gas companies (44%) than to say that his policies mostly benefit working Americans (22%). An additional 27% say that Trump’s energy policies benefit oil and gas companies and working Americans equally.
Additionally, voters are 11 points more likely to agree with a statement that Trump’s ‘energy dominance’ agenda “is a plan to let big oil and gas companies make more profits while banning clean energy, raising costs for working Americans” (52%) than to agree with a statement that Trump’s ‘energy dominance’ agenda “will make America energy independent and lower costs for working Americans” (41%).
Still, around half are holding out hope that Trump will prioritize average Americans over oil and gas companies as 48% say that they have at least “some” trust in Trump to put everyday Americans first in his energy policies.
Independents are skeptical of Trump’s energy policies and their impact on consumer costs. Independent voters are 31 points more likely to say that Trump’s energy policies mostly benefit oil and gas companies (49%) than to say that his energy policies mostly benefit working Americans (18%).
Additionally, by a 16-point margin, independent voters side more with the statement that Trump’s energy agenda “is a plan to let big oil and gas companies make more profits while banning clean energy, raising costs for working Americans” (55%) than the statement that Trump’s energy agenda “will make America energy independent and lower costs for working Americans.”
Higher food prices and energy bills rank among the most salient ways that climate change impacts people at the personal level. When asked to select climate impacts that they are already experiencing or expect to experience in the next five years, higher food prices and cooling costs rise to the top for voters:
- Higher food prices due to crop failures – 55% already experiencing or expect to experience
- Higher cooling costs during hotter summers – 50%
- Health impacts from heat, smoke, or pollution – 32%
- Higher home insurance rates or difficulty getting coverage – 31%
- Water restrictions or higher water bills due to drought – 29%
- Weather-related damage to your home or property – 24%
- Loss of property value due to flooding or fire risk – 19%
Additionally, when asked to choose the one potential climate-related cost that they are most concerned about, voters similarly gravitate toward higher costs for food and utilities as the most troubling kinds of economic impacts:
- Increased food prices due to agricultural disruptions – 36%
- Higher energy bills – 29%
- Health care costs related to air pollution and extreme heat – 8%
- More tax dollars spent on disaster relief and recovery – 7%
- Rising home insurance rates in disaster-prone areas – 7%
Voters across party lines are concerned that FEMA will lack sufficient funds to help with climate disasters. Around three-quarters of voters (77%) are concerned that funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and disaster relief “will not be sufficient to help communities affected by climate disasters”–including large majorities of Democrats (91%), independents (77%), and Republicans (65%).
These widespread concerns about disaster relief funding help explain both why voters want polluters to pay their fair share of the costs and also why the public opposes cuts to FEMA: polling by The Economist and YouGov in February found that only around one-quarter of Americans want the agency to be reduced or eliminated.
[AAPI] AAPI Data + AP-NORC – Climate change is one of Democrats’ clearest issue strengths with AAPI Americans, who widely disapprove of Trump’s handling of the issue [Website, Report, Topline]
AAPI Americans are particularly concerned about climate change. Nearly four in five AAPI adults (78%) say that they have already felt “major” impacts from climate change or expect to in the future, compared to a national average of 69% among all U.S. adults in other AP-NORC polling this year.
More than any other major issue, AAPI Americans trust Democrats over Republicans to handle climate change and environmental issues. AAPI Americans are 41 points more likely to say that they trust Democrats (56%) than Republicans (15%) to better handle climate and the environment, which is the largest advantage for either party on any issue that was included in the survey.
Below are the margins by which AAPI Americans say that they trust one party over the other on major issues:
- Climate change or environmental issues – Democrats +41
- Education – Democrats +31
- Health reform – Democrats +27
- Foreign policy issues – Democrats +17
- Housing costs – Democrats +14
- The economy – Democrats +3
- Inflation – Democrats +3
- Immigration – Republicans +4
Trump’s climate policies rank among his biggest issue vulnerabilities with AAPI Americans. The survey, which was fielded in early March, found that 71% of AAPI Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of climate change–ranking it on par with the economy (71%) and trade negotiation with other countries (71%) as his weakest issues with AAPI Americans.
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