Environmental Polling Roundup – August 8, 2025
Headlines
Bentley University + Gallup – Most Americans say that businesses should take public stances on climate change [Website]
[CA] Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) – Californians view climate change as a serious threat to the state, and widely back the state government’s policies to curb emissions [Website, Report, Crosstabs]
[NJ] Fairleigh Dickinson University – Following recent rate hikes, New Jerseyans don’t know who to blame for their rising electricity prices [Article, Website]
Key Takeaways
There is a lot of public confusion around rising electricity prices, and clean energy advocates need to be proactive in countering misinformation. Following rate hikes that recently went into effect for Americans served by the PJM Interconnection, the largest grid operator in the country, Fairleigh Dickinson University finds that New Jerseyans aren’t sure who or what to blame after seeing their monthly electricity bills spike by around 20%. A plurality of New Jersey voters incorrectly blame the increase on their utility companies, which charge for delivery but are tightly regulated and have no actual control over the cost of the electricity supply.
New Jersey Republicans, meanwhile, are trying to pin the price hike on so-called “green energy mandates”–even though renewables account for less than 5% of the state’s electricity supply. We’re seeing a similar playbook employed across the country as electricity bills continue to rise, and clean energy advocates need to counter it effectively. The scapegoating of clean energy, while untrue, has persuasive power as it offers a simple narrative about a complex issue that is frustrating Americans.
Clean energy advocates, in response, should tell our own simple story about the real obstacles to meeting Americans’ electricity needs: at a time of surging electricity prices, the Trump administration is blocking wind and solar projects even though these are now the cheapest sources of electricity in the country.
Americans see a bigger role for corporate America to speak out about issues under Trump, particularly climate change. Bentley University and Gallup find that the percentage of Americans who want businesses to take stances on current events has increased by double digits last year, and climate change tops the list of issues that Americans want companies to be vocal about.
These findings reflect a growing sense that corporate America needs to speak out on important topics with Trump in office again, and are consistent with other recent research by the Environmental Voter Project that found that Americans perceive a far larger role for corporations on climate change than on other major issues.
Good Data Points to Highlight
- [Corporate Responsibility] 58% of Americans say that businesses should take a public stance on climate change [Bentley University + Gallup]
- [CA] 67% of Californians support the state law that requires California to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 [PPIC]
- [CA] 62% of Californians support the state law that requires 100 percent of California’s electricity to come from renewable energy sources by 2045 [PPIC]
Full Roundup
Bentley University + Gallup – Most Americans say that businesses should take public stances on climate change [Website]
Most Americans say that businesses should have public stances on climate change. Nearly three in five Americans (58%) say that businesses should generally take public stances on subjects that have to do with climate change, which represents a slight increase from previous surveys conducted by Bentley University and Gallup in 2023 (55%) and 2024 (54%).
This is part of a general shift in favor of companies speaking out on issues since Trump took office again. Around half of Americans (51%) now say that businesses should take public stances on current events, which is 13 points higher than last year (38%).
Americans want businesses to be more vocal about climate change than about other issues. Of the 12 issue areas that the survey asked about, climate change tied with free speech as the issue that Americans most want companies to take stances on:
- Climate change – 58%
- Free speech – 58%
- Mental health – 57%
- Diversity, equity, and inclusion – 56%
- Healthcare issues – 55%
- Racial issues – 49%
- Immigration policy – 41%
- Gun laws – 40%
- LGBTQ+ issues – 39%
- International conflicts – 33%
- Abortion – 26%
- Religion – 18%
The gaps between Americans’ support for businesses taking vocal stances on climate change and their support for businesses speaking out on other issues also tend to be quite large. Americans are nearly 20 points more likely to say that companies should be vocal about climate change than about immigration policy or gun laws, and 32 points more likely to say that companies should speak out about climate change than about abortion.
On all 12 issues included in the survey, Americans are more supportive of businesses taking public stances this year compared to last year.
[CA] Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) – Californians view climate change as a serious threat to the state, and widely back the state government’s policies to curb emissions [Website, Report, Crosstabs]
Californians view climate change as a serious threat to the state. Four in five Californians (80%) believe that climate change is at least a “somewhat” serious threat to the economy and quality of life for California’s future, including nearly half (46%) who call it a “very” serious threat.
While Democrats (65%) are considerably more likely than Republicans (22%) to rate climate change as a “very” serious threat, around half of the state’s Republicans (52%) acknowledge that climate change poses at least a “somewhat” serious threat to the state.
Californians also recognize that climate change is a here-and-now problem, as the majority (62%) agree that the effects of climate change have already begun to happen. This includes more than three-quarters of Democrats (78%), more than two two-thirds of political independents (71%), and around two in five Republicans (39%).
Most Californians have strong concerns about the impacts of climate change on home insurance. Recent national polling has shown that voters are deeply concerned about rising home insurance costs and connect these rising costs to climate change.
Here, PPIC finds that majorities of Californians are concerned about the impacts of climate change on both the cost and availability of home insurance:
- 60% are “very” concerned that home insurance will become more expensive due to climate change risks
- 57% are “very” concerned about Californians being unable to obtain home insurance due to climate change risks
These concerns span partisan lines, as most Republicans in the state (56%) say that they are “very” concerned about climate change increasing home insurance costs and half (51%) are “very” concerned about Californians being unable to obtain home insurance.
Californians widely support the state’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Two-thirds of residents (67%) support the state law that requires California to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 40 percent below 1990 levels by the year 2030, compared to just 30% who oppose it. This support is driven by overwhelming margins among both Democrats (89% favor / 10% oppose) and political independents (67% favor / 29% oppose), as Republicans break sharply with the rest of the state by opposing the law (31% favor / 68% oppose).
And after reading basic information about the state’s “cap-and-invest” system to limit greenhouse gas emissions, Californians support the policy by a 22-point margin (59% favor / 37% oppose).
Wildfires and water availability also rank as acute environmental concerns in California. Nearly half of Californians (46%) say that wildfires are a “big problem” in their part of California, and two in five (41%) say that the supply of water is a “big problem” in their area.
These two issues also rank highly when Californians are asked to choose the most important environmental issue facing California today:
- Wildfires, loss of forests, forest fires – 20%
- Global warming, climate change, greenhouse gases – 17%
- Government overregulation, politicians, environmentalists – 17%
- Water supply, drought, reservoirs – 14%
- Pollution in general – 9%
- Transportation, traffic congestion, transit – 7%
- Water pollution – 4%
- Energy, fossil fuels, alternative energy – 3%
- Landfills, garbage, sewage, waste, recycling – 3%
- Air pollution – 2%
- Electric vehicles – 1%
Californians back the state government’s plan to achieve 100% renewable electricity, but are more ambivalent about banning gas-powered vehicles. Roughly three in five (62%) support the state law that requires 100% of California’s electricity to come from renewable energy sources by 2045.
However, Californians are split on the state banning the sale of new diesel-powered heavy-duty and medium-duty trucks by 2036 (47% favor / 51% oppose) and are mostly opposed to banning the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035 (35% favor / 63% oppose).
Californians overwhelmingly support the expansion of solar and wind in the state, while opposing offshore drilling. Consistent with their support for shifting the state to 100% renewable electricity, large majorities favor building more solar power stations in California (81%) and allowing wind power and wave energy projects off the California coast (75%).
Support for these clean energy sources is also bipartisan, with majorities of Republicans in California favoring the expansion of solar power (64%) and wind power and wave energy projects (61%).
Meanwhile, Californians are divided over building more nuclear power plants in the state (48% favor / 50% oppose) and widely oppose allowing more oil drilling off the California coast (34% favor / 65% oppose).
[NJ] Fairleigh Dickinson University – Following recent rate hikes, New Jerseyans don’t know who to blame for their rising electricity prices [Article, Website]
New Jersey voters don’t have a clear target at which to direct their frustrations with electricity prices. Following a rate hike that went into effect on June 1, the average New Jersey household is now paying about 20% more on its monthly electricity bills, The rate hike is due to a fairly elaborate situation wherein the power plants that supply electricity to PJM Interconnection, the country’s largest power grid operator, have collectively charged record-high wholesale energy prices through an auction system designed to keep the grid running at all times amid surging demand.
Given the complexity of the issue, it’s perhaps not surprising that New Jerseyans don’t have a clear idea of who or what to blame for the increase in their energy bills. After providing poll respondents with a list of possible people or entities to blame, Fairleigh Dickinson University finds that a plurality of New Jersey voters place responsibility on utility companies but no more than about one-quarter choose any single option:
- Utility companies – 26%
- The governor – 19%
- The federal government – 15%
- The state legislature – 14%
- Energy producers – 10%
Meanwhile, New Jersey Republicans are blaming the rate hike on so-called “green energy mandates” even though the state generates less than 5% of its energy from renewable sources. In fact, one of the biggest factors behind the squeeze on electricity prices is the backlog of clean energy projects that are waiting for approval to be connected to the grid.
Related Resources
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