Environmental Polling Roundup – December 9th, 2022
HEADLINES
- Yahoo + YouGov – The majority of Americans rate climate change as an “emergency,” and Americans lean in favor of providing aid to help poorer countries deal with the climate crisis (Crosstabs)
- Data for Progress – Voters are worried that climate change will increase the cost of living, but have hope that the expansion of renewables will bring down energy costs (Article, Topline)
- [Louisiana] Americans for Carbon Dividends – Most Louisianans recognize climate change and say it’s important for their elected officials to work on addressing it; proposals to incentivize U.S. manufacturing over imports from high-polluting countries are overwhelmingly popular (Release, including topline and crosstabs)
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Americans are primed to believe arguments that climate action will help combat the rising cost of living. Data for Progress finds that voters are concerned that climate change will increase consumer prices, while the majority also believe that expanding clean energy production will lower energy costs. These findings point to a clear opening for climate advocates to argue that climate action will help ease the cost of living for U.S. households, a key dimension in the public debate over the clean energy transition.
- Americans lean toward favoring international aid to help poorer countries deal with climate change, but the public supports certain types of climate-related aid more than others. Yahoo and YouGov find that Americans are more likely to support than oppose the idea of providing international aid to help poorer countries deal with climate change, but a proposal to help poorer countries recover from climate-related disasters is considerably more popular than proposals to help poorer countries transition to clean energy or adapt to climate change.
- The idea of a cleaner economy is particularly compelling when it’s tied to making more products in America. Polling in Louisiana, Americans for Carbon Dividends finds that voters overwhelmingly support trade policies that would incentivize lower-carbon U.S. manufacturing over higher-carbon imports and also widely support tariffs or fees on imports from high-pollution countries “so that U.S. manufacturers can compete fairly.”
GOOD DATA POINTS TO HIGHLIGHT
- [Clean Energy + Costs] 70% of Americans believe that expanding renewable energy production, like wind and solar power, will bring energy costs down [Data for Progress]
- [Climate Change] 59% of Americans recognize that human activity is causing climate change, while just 24% deny that humans are causing it [Yahoo + YouGov]
- [Climate Change] 54% of Americans rate climate change as an “emergency” [Yahoo + YouGov]
- [Issue Priority] More Americans name climate change and the environment as the single “most important issue” to them than any other issue aside from inflation/prices, health care, and the economy/jobs [The Economist + YouGov]
- [Louisiana] 59% of Louisiana voters say that it’s important for their member of Congress or legislator to work on addressing climate change [Americans for Carbon Dividends]
FULL ROUNDUP
Yahoo + YouGov
The majority of Americans rate climate change as an “emergency,” and Americans lean in favor of providing aid to help poorer countries deal with the climate crisis (Crosstabs)
This new polling from Yahoo and YouGov confirms that a consistent majority of Americans recognize that humans are causing climate change: roughly three in five (59%) believe that human activity is causing climate change, compared to just 24% who deny human-caused climate change. An additional 17% say they’re “not sure” whether humans are causing climate change.
The poll additionally finds that most Americans believe that climate change has risen to the level of an “emergency”: when asked directly whether climate change constitutes an emergency or not, 54% agree with that description and only 31% disagree.
On questions about the United States’ approach to helping poorer countries deal with the climate crisis, Americans’ attitudes are more divided.
When presented with the two competing statements below about whether the U.S. should aid poorer countries with clean energy development, climate adaptation, and climate-related disasters, Americans side more with the argument in favor of climate-related international aid by a margin of 16 points:
- “The U.S. should help poor countries develop clean energy and also adapt to and recover from effects of climate change like stronger hurricanes, sea level rise, drought and famine” (49% agree more)
- “The U.S. should only take care of its own needs, and has no reason to help other countries deal with climate change” (33% agree more)
The poll finds that international aid to help poorer countries recover from climate-related disasters is considerably more popular than international aid to help poorer countries with the clean energy transition or climate adaptation.
By a margin of 18 points, Americans tend to agree that the U.S. should give poor countries financial aid to help them recover from climate change-related disasters like droughts and floods (47% yes / 29% no).
However, the public is more split on the ideas of providing financial aid to help poor countries switch from fossil fuels like coal to cleaner energy sources like wind and solar power (41% yes / 36% no) and providing financial aid to help poor countries adapt to climate impacts like rising sea levels and stronger storms (41% yes / 35% no).
The data here suggests that Americans are more inclined to help other countries in the aftermath of climate-related disasters than to help countries prevent these disasters from happening, indicating that the public needs to hear more about the efficacy of earlier climate action to avert these types of disasters.
Data for Progress
Voters are worried that climate change will increase the cost of living, but have hope that the expansion of renewables will bring down energy costs (Article, Topline)
This new polling from Data for Progress includes an interesting angle on the debate over the costs of the clean energy transition.
Polls consistently show that clean energy advocates are winning most dimensions of the energy debate: the public is inclined to believe that transitioning away from fossil fuels and toward cleaner energy sources will have positive impacts on public health, the climate, the environment, and future generations. However, the public is relatively less convinced that the clean energy transition will be good for their short-term finances or for the economy on the whole.
Concerns about the economics of the clean energy transition are especially common among conservative audiences, who tend to expect that shifting away from fossil fuels will have a negative economic impact.
In this new poll, Data for Progress finds that over two-thirds of voters (69%) are concerned that climate change will cause higher prices for consumers in the future. This includes about one-third of voters (33%) who are “very” concerned that climate change will increase consumers’ prices, along with 36% who are “somewhat” concerned about it.
This high level of concern suggests an opening for climate advocates to make a strong argument connecting climate change to the rising cost of living. Polls show that consumer prices and inflation remain the public’s biggest concerns, making this type of argument even more potentially salient.
By framing climate action as a way to save consumers money, the argument that climate change is increasing consumer prices also preempts our opponents’ most potent lines of attack around the costs and economic impacts of climate action.
On that same theme, Data for Progress finds that seven in ten Americans (70%) believe that expanding renewable energy production, like wind and solar power, will help bring energy costs down.
There is clearly room to solidify this belief, with just 28% saying that the expansion of renewable energy production will bring energy costs down “a lot” rather than “a little” (42%). Still, this data further indicates that the public is open to arguments that climate action can help bring down household costs.
[Louisiana] Americans for Carbon Dividends
Most Louisianans recognize climate change and say it’s important for their elected officials to work on addressing it; proposals to incentivize U.S. manufacturing over imports from high-polluting countries are overwhelmingly popular (Release, including topline and crosstabs)
This new statewide poll from the right-leaning Americans for Carbon Dividends provides more evidence that climate change is a common concern even in the most conservative, fossil fuel-friendly pockets of the country.
The poll finds that the majority of Louisiana voters (58%) believe that climate change is a real and at least “somewhat” serious problem, including over two in five (42%) who rate it as a “very” serious problem.
Additionally, by a margin of 10 points, Louisiana voters are more likely to agree (51%) than disagree (41%) that climate change has contributed to recent severe hurricanes such as Gustav, Ida, Katrina, and Laura.
Most Louisiana voters (59%) also say that it’s at least “somewhat” important that their member of Congress or legislator works on addressing climate change, including 45% who say it’s “very” important for their elected representatives to work on addressing the problem.
The poll also includes several questions about the types of carbon fees that Americans for Carbon Dividends advocates for, such as a Border Carbon Adjustment (BCA).
The poll finds that trade policies that incentivize clean U.S. manufacturing have very broad appeal.
By a 75%-18% margin, Louisiana voters agree that America “should enact policies that discourage products made with higher carbon pollution and provide incentives for products made in America with less carbon pollution.”
Louisiana voters also widely agree that foreign countries such as China and Russia that are less carbon efficient than the U.S. should “be required to pay a fee when their high carbon products enter the U.S. to ensure that U.S. manufacturers can compete fairly” (80% agree / 11% disagree).
Further, three-quarters of Louisiana voters support “placing a pollution tariff or import fee on high carbon imports from China, Russia, and other foreign polluters” (76% support / 14% oppose).
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