Environmental Polling Roundup – August 28, 2026
Headlines
The Economist + YouGov – In addition to widely opposing data centers in their own areas, Americans are more likely to say that data centers are a bad thing than a good thing for the country [Article, Topline, Crosstabs]
Navigator – More voters label oil and gas companies as “corrupt” than any other major industry [Topline]
Reuters + Ipsos – Climate/environment remains one of the Democratic Party’s clearest issue strengths over the Republican Party [Topline]
Key Takeaways
Voters view the oil and gas industry as uniquely corrupt. Navigator finds that voters are more likely to choose oil and gas than any other industry as being “corrupt” and “using its money and influence to rig the rules in its favor”–even ahead of other unpopular industries like prescription drugs, Big Tech and AI, and health insurance.
The sense that oil and gas companies are particularly corrupt extends beyond partisan lines, as Democrats are more likely to view oil and gas as “corrupt” than any other industry and independents and Republicans rank only pharmaceuticals as more corrupt than oil and gas.
This follows previous polling by Navigator in April that found that voters were also more likely to say that they were concerned about the political influence of oil and gas companies than any other industry, and also believed that oil and gas companies held more influence over Trump than any other industry.
As this new data reaffirms, oil and gas companies remain a powerful and non-partisan villain to use in communications about the environment, climate, and energy.
Climate/environment remains one of the Democratic Party’s core issue strengths heading into the midterms. As Democratic elected officials and candidates debate whether or not to de-emphasize climate change in their campaigns and public communications, polls continue to tell a clear story that climate and the environment are a core strength of the Democratic Party’s brand.
Reuters and Ipsos find that Americans trust the Democratic Party over the Republican Party by an 18-point margin to handle climate change and the environment–more than any of the other 12 issues that the survey asked about aside from women’s rights (on which Democrats also have an 18-point advantage).
This continues a trend from other recent election cycles, as climate/environment, abortion and women’s rights, and health care have consistently polled as the Democratic Party’s strongest issues in recent years.
Those calling for “climate hushing,” therefore, are asking Democrats to ignore one of the issues on which they have earned the most public trust. And while “climate hushers” often use polling data to make a case that climate change is a low priority beyond the Democratic base, The Economist and YouGov find this week that independents are more likely to name climate change and the environment as their top issue priority than immigration, crime, national security, or foreign policy–all of which tend to receive far more focus than environmental issues from the media and political campaigns.
Full Roundup
The Economist + YouGov – In addition to widely opposing data centers in their own areas, Americans are more likely to say that data centers are a bad thing than a good thing for the country [Article, Topline, Crosstabs]
Americans continue to oppose local data centers by a wide margin. As we’ve seen in other polls, local data centers are unpopular among every segment of the electorate. Here, The Economist and YouGov find that Americans oppose data centers being built in their communities by a 39-point margin (22% support / 61% oppose). Additionally, nearly half of Americans (46%) say that they would strongly oppose a local data center while just 6% would strongly support one.
The idea of a local data center is underwater by 64 points among Democrats (11% support / 75% oppose) and by 42 points among independents (19% support / 61% oppose). And while Republicans (38% support / 47% oppose) are relatively more open to local data centers than other groups, they are still more likely to oppose than support having one in their community.
The majority of Americans believe that a local data center would increase their electricity costs. Perceived impacts on energy costs continue to stand out as a particular concern about data centers, as The Economist and YouGov find that the majority of Americans (62%) believe that a new data center in their community would increase what they personally pay for electricity. Only 13% believe that a local data center would have no impact on their electricity costs and just 3% believe that their electricity bills would decrease. An additional 23% say that they aren’t sure what the impact on their electricity costs would be.
Clear majorities of Democrats (72%) and independents (63%) believe that a local data center would raise their electricity costs, as do half of Republicans (50%).
Americans are much more likely to say that data centers are a bad thing than a good thing for the country. Hostility toward data centers also extends beyond Americans’ own communities to the national level, as Americans are about twice as likely to say that the construction of new data centers (described in the survey as “large facilities that house computer servers for storing and transmitting data”) is a bad thing for the country (47%) than a good thing for the country (24%).
Again, Democrats (13% good thing / 60% bad thing) and independents (20% good thing / 48% bad thing) have particularly negative feelings about data centers while Republicans are relatively more accepting of them (38% good thing / 33% bad thing).
By a wide margin, Americans disagree with Trump’s rosy description of data centers’ benefits. The Economist and YouGov asked respondents to react to the following recent quote from Trump (without attributing it to Trump): “If I were the mayor of a town or the governor of a state, and I had a chance to get a data center, I would absolutely want it because the jobs are enormous, and the money paid, the taxes paid are just enormous.”
The poll finds that Americans are more likely to disagree than agree with this statement by a 30-point margin (21% agree / 51% disagree), demonstrating how out of touch Trump’s approach is with public sentiment on the issue.
Democrats (10% agree / 68% disagree) and independents (17% agree / 50% disagree) both disagree with Trump’s (anonymized) description of data centers’ benefits by wide margins, while Republicans are roughly evenly split (34% agree / 35% disagree).
Navigator – More voters label oil and gas companies as “corrupt” than any other major industry [Topline]
Voters are more likely to say that the oil and gas industry is “corrupt” than any other major industry. In asking voters to choose the industries that they believe are most “corrupt, in terms of using [their] money and influence to rig the rules in [their] favor,” Navigator finds that voters are more likely to associate oil and gas companies with corruption than any other industry:
- Oil and gas companies – Chosen by 47% as one of the most corrupt
- Prescription drug companies – 42%
- Big tech and artificial intelligence (AI) companies – 40%
- Health insurance companies – 37%
- Defense contractors – 24%
- Large landlords and real estate companies – 23%
- The media – 22%
- Crypto companies – 21%
- Banks and credit card companies – 20%
- Grocery chains and food companies – 10%
- Cable and internet providers – 7%
- Airlines – 3%
Previous polling by Navigator in April found that voters were also more likely to say that they were concerned about the political influence of oil and gas companies than any other industry, and also believed that oil and gas had more influence over Trump than any other industry.
Voters across party lines agree that the oil and gas industry is particularly corrupt. Oil and gas is chosen as one of the most corrupt industries on the list by the majority of Democrats (56%), 37% of independents, and 40% of Republicans.
Relative to other industries on Navigator’s list, Democrats chose oil and gas companies as the single most corrupt industry. Among independents and Republicans, oil and gas companies rank below only prescription drug companies in their perceived corruption.
Reuters + Ipsos – Climate/environment remains one of the Democratic Party’s clearest issue strengths over the Republican Party [Topline]
Americans trust Democrats over Republicans to handle climate and the environment by a wider margin than nearly any other issue. Below are the margins by which Americans say that one party has the better “plan, policy, or approach” than the other on various issues:
- Environment and climate – Democrats +18
- Women’s rights – Democrats +18
- Health care – Democrats +13
- Cost of living – Democrats +9
- Democratic values and norms – Democrats +9
- Political violence and extremism – Democrats +3
- The U.S. economy – Democrats +3
- Corruption – Democrats +1
- War, foreign conflicts, or terrorism – Democrats +1
- Gun violence and gun control – EVEN
- Artificial intelligence (AI) – Republicans +1
- Immigration – Republicans +5
- Crime – Republicans +9
As this data shows, the trust gap in favor of Democrats on the environment and climate (+18) is wider than for any other issue aside from women’s rights (also Democrats +18).
These two issues also represent Democrats’ largest advantages with independents, who side more with the Democratic Party on both climate/environment and women’s rights by 20-point margins over the Republican Party.
These findings follow a long-term trend that extends back to previous election cycles, as polls in recent years have consistently shown that climate/environment, abortion and women’s rights, and health care have become core issue strengths for the Democratic Party.
Related Resources
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