Environmental Polling Roundup – January 21st, 2022
HEADLINES
- Climate Power + Data for Progress – The Build Back Better plan and its core climate and clean energy policies remain popular as the overwhelming majority of voters say they want congressional action on climate change (Release, Topline)
- Priorities USA + Data for Progress – Surveys utilizing the MaxDiff method to rank messages and policies find that economic messages are the most compelling statements in support of Build Back Better, and investing in extreme weather resilience is the top-testing climate policy in the bill (Memo)
- CBS News + YouGov – Most Americans approve of the Build Back Better plan, even without being told what’s in it; young Americans lag in their sense of urgency about the bill (Topline + Crosstabs)
- POLITICO + Morning Consult – Climate change and the environment are the Democratic Party’s biggest issue advantages over the Republican Party in voters’ minds; climate change is the top legislative priority for Democratic voters after economic stimulus (Topline, Crosstabs)
GOOD DATA POINTS TO HIGHLIGHT
- 70% of voters say it’s important for Congress to take action to address climate change, including 45% who say it’s “very” important that Congress take action [Climate Power + Data for Progress]
- Voters support the Build Back Better Act by a 67%-28% margin after reading a brief description of the legislation including its major provisions [Climate Power + Data for Progress]
- 73% of voters say it’s important to pass the Build Back Better plan’s provision to make homes, buildings, and schools more energy-efficient [Climate Power + Data for Progress]
- 71% of voters say it’s important to pass the Build Back Better plan’s provision to invest in researching and developing new clean energy technologies [Climate Power + Data for Progress]
- 68% of voters say it’s important to pass the Build Back Better plan’s provision to create tax incentives for clean energy projects such as solar and wind [Climate Power + Data for Progress]
- By a 67%-24% margin, voters support legislation that would require oil and gas companies to pay a fee for excess methane pollution and hold them accountable for cleaning up methane leaks [Climate Power + Data for Progress]
- 66% of voters say it’s important to pass the Build Back Better plan’s provision to invest in communities that historically have been negatively impacted by pollution [Climate Power + Data for Progress]
- 64% of voters say it’s important to pass the Build Back Better plan’s provision to make electric vehicles more affordable for consumers [Climate Power + Data for Progress]
- 61% of voters say it’s important to pass the Build Back Better plan’s provision to phase out government subsidies and financial incentives for oil, gas, and coal production [Climate Power + Data for Progress]
- 61% of voters say it’s important to pass the Build Back Better plan’s provision to create a Civilian Climate Corps [Climate Power + Data for Progress]
- 60% of voters support a new $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicle purchases, and 66% support a proposal that would increase the new tax credit to $12,500 for the purchase of electric vehicles made in American factories by union workers [Climate Power + Data for Progress]
- More Americans say that climate change and the environment is the single most important issue to them than any other issue besides health care and the economy [Economist/YouGov]
FULL ROUNDUP
Climate Power + Data for Progress
The Build Back Better plan and its core climate and clean energy policies remain popular as the overwhelming majority of voters say they want congressional action on climate change (Release, Topline)
This new poll finds some of the highest support we’ve seen for the Build Back Better plan, with 67% of voters saying they support it and just 28% opposed after reading a brief explanation of the legislation that includes several of its major provisions. The poll also finds that Republican voters are split nearly evenly in their support for the bill (45% support / 51% oppose). This is consistent with public polls last week which showed that public opinion about Build Back Better is trending up, driven in large part by recent gains in support among Republican voters.
Additionally, Climate Power and Data for Progress asked about seven specific provisions of the plan that relate to climate and clean energy and found that majorities say it’s important for lawmakers to pass each one of these provisions. This includes majorities who say it’s important to pass:
- Investments to make homes, buildings, and schools more energy-efficient to lower energy costs (73% say it’s important to pass this provision)
- Investments to research and develop new clean energy technologies (71%)
- Tax incentives for clean energy projects, such as solar and wind energy (68%)
- Investments in communities that historically have been negatively impacted by pollution (66%)
- Investments to make electric vehicles more affordable for consumers (64% important)
- Phasing out government subsidies and financial incentives for oil, gas, and coal production (61%)
- A Civilian Climate Corps to employ young people in community sustainability projects (61%)
Notably, majorities of Republican voters say that it’s important to pass the plan’s provisions to invest in energy efficiency and in researching and developing new clean energy technologies – making these good topics to focus on in persuasive communications about the bill whether you’re talking to base or persuasion audiences. The plan’s policies around energy efficiency and clean energy development have long polled as two of its most universally popular climate-related aspects.
The poll also asked how concerned voters are about a range of environmental threats, and found that Americans have similarly intense concerns about air and water pollution (78% concerned, including 45% who are “very” concerned), extreme weather (74% concerned, 43% “very” concerned), and climate change (70% concerned, 44% “very” concerned). In the past, Americans’ concerns about extreme weather have typically followed seasonal patterns to a degree. However, this data suggests that the natural disasters that drove heightened concern about extreme weather in the summer of 2021 may have shifted public opinion in a more long-lasting way and made extreme weather as salient of a concern as pollution and climate change.
Additionally, the poll found that seven in ten voters (70%) believe it’s important for Congress to take action to address climate change – including over nine in ten Democratic voters (92%), the clear majority of independent voters (71%), and nearly half of Republican voters (46%).
Priorities USA + Data for Progress
Surveys utilizing the MaxDiff method to rank messages and policies find that economic messages are the most compelling statements in support of Build Back Better, and investing in extreme weather resilience is the top-testing climate policy in the bill (Memo)
This new memo from Priorities USA and Data for Progress focused on the merits of the MaxDiff method as a way for polls to gauge the relative appeal of messages and policies. The main difference between the MaxDiff method and the Likert scales that are utilized in most polls is that MaxDiff asks poll respondents to rank options against each other by selecting the options they like most and least, whereas questions with Likert scales ask respondents to separately rate each option on a particular scale (e.g., “Very appealing,” “Somewhat appealing,” “A little appealing,” or “Not appealing at all.”).
Surveys conducted by Priorities USA and Data for Progress found that results from MaxDiff testing of Build Back Better messages and policies were validated by other methods, including randomized control trials (RCTs). Pulling from the memo, which does a good job of explaining the effectiveness of the MaxDiff method in plain language:
“Over the course of Fall 2021, Priorities USA and Data for Progress worked to verify the efficacy of the MaxDiff (Best-Worst Scaling) question format for political-message testing.
Our research shows that MaxDiff is an effective and simple method of ranking messages, policies, or other discrete elements by capturing the preferences of voters implicitly without asking them to rank the elements themselves. The MaxDiff format works well against traditional measurement tactics like ordinal ranking, Likert scaling, and in-survey Randomized Control Trials (RCTs).
As the 2022 elections approach, movement and electoral partners need clear guidance on which messaging to use for certain issues. MaxDiff offers a powerful solution by answering the question: “If I have to talk about X, what should I say?”
…
We are confident that MaxDiff offers a quick, powerful, and cost-effective method for ordinally ranking messages and policies by their persuasive effects among voters. In multiple experiments and settings, our format and scoring method validates well against the existing approaches to message testing.”
Priorities USA and Data for Progress found that, using the MaxDiff method, the top-testing statements in support of Build Back Better focused on economic concerns such as jobs and affordability. These top-ranking messages include:
- Jobs: We need to pass this plan because it invests in creating thousands of good paying, blue collar jobs that all American workers will benefit from.
- Middle Class: The investments will grow our middle class, secure a future for our children, and make the American dream affordable again.
- Manufacturing: This plan invests billions of dollars to rebuild American manufacturing and create a healthy economy.
Data for Progress also used MaxDiff to gauge relative support for eleven different climate-related provisions and found that voters rated the provision related to weatherizing homes, buildings and schools to withstand extreme weather and natural disasters as the most appealing climate-related aspect of the Build Back Better plan – reinforcing that extreme weather is now a widespread and intense concern that voters are particularly eager to see addressed.
CBS News + YouGov
Most Americans approve of the Build Back Better plan, even without being told what’s in it; young Americans lag in their sense of urgency about the bill (Topline + Crosstabs)
This is one of the few polls we’ve seen that gauges support for the Build Back Better plan without providing any hints as to what’s in it (“From what you have seen or heard about it so far, do you approve or disapprove of the Biden Administration’s proposed ‘Build Back Better’ plan?”)
The results aren’t bad, as the survey finds that Americans approve of the plan by six points on net (53% approve / 47% approve). However, the crosstabs here clearly indicate that Americans still need to be educated about the Build Back Better plan’s major provisions (several of which are overwhelmingly popular) because, absent that information, people’s attitudes about the plan simply mirror how they feel about President Biden. The poll found that 91% of Biden’s 2020 voters approve of the plan, while 90% of Trump’s 2020 voters oppose it.
The poll’s crosstabs also reveal an odd disconnect between younger Americans’ support for the Build Back Better plan and the importance they place on passing it. Approval of the plan is higher among younger adults, including those aged under 30 (58% approve) and 30-44 (59% approve), than among those aged 45-64 (51% approve) or 65+ (44% approve).
However, when asked how important it is that Congress passes the legislation, those under 30 are the least likely to say it’s “very important” that the bill passes. Just 33% of Americans under 30 call it “very important” to pass the legislation, compared to 37% of those aged 30-44, 39% of those aged 45-64, and 38% of those aged 65+.
Part of the disconnect here may be due to younger voters’ disaffected attitudes toward President Biden, as polls have consistently shown a sharp decline in Biden’s approval among those aged under 30 since he took office. This makes it all the more important to educate younger audiences about the Build Back Better’s investments in climate action; while they might not be thrilled about Biden or willing to take action to support his agenda in general, we know that young Americans do care deeply about addressing climate change.
POLITICO + Morning Consult
Climate change and the environment are the Democratic Party’s biggest issue advantages over the Republican Party in voters’ minds; climate change is the top legislative priority for Democratic voters after economic stimulus (Topline, Crosstabs)
Every month or two, POLITICO and Morning Consult release new data about voters’ relative trust in the two parties to handle major issues. One very consistent finding in this series of polls is that climate change and the environment are the two issues on which voters are most likely to trust Democrats over Republicans, and the two issues on which Republican voters have the least faith in their own party. Here are the 13 issues that POLITICO and Morning Consult asked about in this latest wave, with the margins by which voters trust one party in Congress over the other to handle each issue:
- Climate change (Democrats +19)
- The environment (Democrats +17)
- Health care (Democrats +8)
- Protecting Medicare and Social Security (Democrats +7)
- Coronavirus (Democrats +4)
- Voting rights (Democrats +4)
- Education (Democrats +3)
- Energy (Democrats +1)
- Immigration (Republicans +8)
- Gun policy (Republicans +9)
- Jobs (Republicans +10)
- The economy (Republicans +13)
- National security (Republicans +17)
For nearly all of these issues, over 70% of Republican voters naturally say that they trust the Republican Party over the Democratic Party to handle it – including over 85% who trust their party more on the economy, jobs, immigration, and national security. However, Republican voters are far less consolidated behind their party on the environment (64%) and climate change (59%). In fact, 15% of Republican voters say that they trust the Democratic Party more to handle climate change and the environment – making these issues, along with health care (10%), the only ones on which double-digit percentages of Republican voters prefer the Democratic Party’s approach.
These results re-affirm both that 1.) the anti-climate positions of many elected Republicans in Washington are far out of step with the national electorate and 2.) there remains a clear and persistent wedge between the Republican Party and many of its own voters on climate and environmental issues.
Another consistent finding backed up by this survey is that climate change continues to be a top-tier priority for Democratic voters. The poll asked about 12 different priorities that Congress could focus on, and more Democratic voters said that passing a bill to address climate change and its effects should be a “top priority” for Congress (56%) than any other priority aside from stimulating the economy to recover from the coronavirus pandemic (66%).
Related Resources
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