Environmental Polling Roundup – January 31, 2025
Headlines
Yale + GMU – Most voters continue to say that climate and clean energy should be government priorities; several specific policy proposals earn bipartisan support, including investing in clean energy, limiting methane, and reducing pollution in the most impacted communities [Website, Full Report]
Reuters + Ipsos – The majority of Americans oppose withdrawing from the Paris Agreement, and the public is divided on whether to ease fossil fuel restrictions [Article, Topline]
The Economist + YouGov – Americans oppose withdrawing from the Paris Agreement and are split on scaling back EV goals [Topline, Crosstabs]
Evergreen Action + YouGov – Voters overwhelmingly agree that the government should maintain incentives for clean energy [Release, Memo, Topline]
Progressive Change Institute + Data for Progress – Voters are deeply concerned that DOGE will cut environmental cleanup and federal disaster response [Release, Crosstabs]
Key Takeaways
As the idea of “environmental justice” comes under attack, Americans widely agree that we should be reducing pollution in the communities that have been most impacted. While the public is hazy on what “environmental justice” means (only around half of voters say that they’re familiar with the term), the idea that environmental policies should correct past injustices by reducing pollution in the most impacted communities strikes voters as common sense.
Yale and GMU find that overwhelming majorities of voters support proposals to strengthen enforcement of industrial pollution limits and increase federal funding to low-income communities and communities of color that have been disproportionately harmed by air and water pollution. Further, Evergreen Action and YouGov find that around three-quarters of voters support federal investments to reduce pollution and improve air and water quality in communities with histories of high pollution.
Despite partisan polarization, bipartisan majorities support many specific proposals that would help address climate change. In the latest edition of their long-running “Climate Change in the American Mind” study, Yale and GMU find that Democrats and Republicans continue to trend very far apart in their views about how much the U.S. should prioritize climate change and clean energy. However, several more specific policy proposals continue to attract bipartisan support. For example, majorities across the political spectrum favor proposals to invest in climate-smart agriculture and renewable energy, set strict limits on methane emissions from oil and gas production, and regulate carbon dioxide as a pollutant.
Good Data Points to Highlight
- [Justice] 76% of voters support strengthening the enforcement of industrial pollution limits in low-income communities and communities of color that are disproportionately impacted by air and water pollution [Yale + GMU]
- [Paris] Voters oppose the U.S. withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accords by a 56%-39% margin [Reuters + Ipsos]
- [ANWR] 67% of voters oppose drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge [Yale + GMU]
- [Methane] 74% of voters support setting strict limits on methane emissions from oil and gas production [Yale + GMU]
- [Clean Energy] 71% of voters say that the U.S. should use more renewable energy than it does today [Yale + GMU]
- [Electrification] 69% of voters support tax credits or rebates to encourage people to buy electric appliances, such as heat pumps and induction stoves [Yale + GMU]
- [Jobs] By a 55%-43% margin, voters say that increasing clean energy production is likely to create more good jobs than increasing fossil fuel production [Yale + GMU]
Full Roundup
Yale + GMU – Most voters continue to say that climate and clean energy should be government priorities; several specific policy proposals earn bipartisan support, including investing in clean energy, limiting methane, and reducing pollution in the most impacted communities [Website, Full Report]
Most voters continue to say that global warming and clean energy should both be high priorities for the federal government. Slightly more than half (54%) agree that global warming should be a “high” or “very high” priority for the president and Congress in this survey, which was fielded in December.
A larger majority (63%) say that developing sources of clean energy should be a “high” or “very high” priority for the country.
Both of these figures are essentially unchanged from the previous Yale/GMU survey, which was fielded in April 2024.
While around nine in ten Democrats agree that global warming (87%) and clean energy development (90%) should both be high priorities for the president and Congress, only around one-third of Republicans (34%) say that clean energy should be a high priority and just 23% say that global warming should be a high priority.
Clear majorities say that the country should be increasing the use of clean energy and decreasing the use of energy from fossil fuels. Around seven in ten voters (71%) say that, in the future, the U.S. should use renewable energy sources like solar and wind more than it is today. Even conservative Republicans, who are the audience that is least supportive of clean energy, are more likely to say that the U.S. should increase its use of renewable energy (43%) than decrease it (27%).
Most voters (61%) also agree that the United States should use less energy from fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas in the future. However, only around three in ten Republicans (31%) agree that the U.S. should decrease its use of fossil fuels.
This is a common finding in polling on energy issues; while Republicans consistently join with the rest of the electorate in supporting the expansion of clean energy, they tend to disagree that the country should be using less of any type of energy.
Several climate-friendly policies are popular across party lines – including funding for climate-smart agriculture, research into renewables, strict limits on methane emissions, and regulating carbon dioxide as a pollutant. One consistent finding in Yale and GMU’s research is that specific policies to address climate change are often popular across the political spectrum, and tend to be more widely supported than broader calls to “take action on” or “prioritize” climate change.
For example, bipartisan majorities support specific proposals to invest in climate-smart agriculture and renewable energy research and to strengthen regulations on methane and carbon dioxide:
- 88% of voters (including 81% of Republicans) support federal funding to help farmers improve farming practices to protect and restore the soil so it absorbs and stores more carbon
- 77% of voters (including 55% of Republicans) support funding more research into renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power
- 74% of voters (including 52% of Republicans) support setting strict limits on methane emissions from oil and gas production
- 73% of voters (including 52% of Republicans) support regulating carbon dioxide, the primary greenhouse gas, as a pollutant
Around two-thirds of voters, including substantial minorities of Republicans, also support proposals to incentivize household electrification, fund more climate change research, and implement a carbon tax on fossil fuel companies:
- 69% of voters (including 46% of Republicans) support providing tax credits or rebates to encourage people to buy electric appliances, such as heat pumps and induction stoves, that run on electricity instead of oil or gas
- 69% of voters (including 42% of Republicans) support funding more research on global warming and climate change by federal agencies such as NASA, NOAA, and the EPA
- 67% of voters (including 40% of Republicans) support requiring fossil fuel companies to pay a carbon tax use and use the money to reduce other taxes, such as income taxes, by an equal amount
While majorities of voters also support transitioning the U.S. economy to 100% clean energy by 2050 (63% support) and providing tax rebates for people who purchase electric vehicles (58% support), these two proposals are relatively more polarizing as large majorities of Republicans oppose them.
Voters also widely support justice-oriented policies to remove pollution and increase energy efficiency in low-income communities and communities of color. Yale and GMU find that climate justice policies, when explained plainly, attract broad support:
- 77% of voters support federal funding to make residential buildings in low-income communities more energy efficient
- 76% of voters support strengthening enforcement of industrial pollution limits in low-income communities and communities of color that are disproportionately impacted by air and water pollution
- 75% of voters support developing a national program to train people who work in the fossil fuel industry for new jobs in the renewable energy industry, such as wind and solar
- 69% of voters support increasing federal funding to low-income communities and communities of color who are disproportionately harmed by air and water pollution
Reuters + Ipsos – The majority of Americans oppose withdrawing from the Paris Agreement, and the public is divided on whether to ease fossil fuel restrictions [Article, Topline]
Most Americans oppose withdrawal from the Paris Agreement. In testing several policies that Trump has either issued or announced in his second term so far, Reuters and Ipsos find that many, including Trump’s decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Agreement, are underwater.
The survey (which did not ascribe any of the policies to Trump directly) finds that Americans oppose withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accords by a 17-point margin (39% support / 56% oppose). Additionally, self-identified independents oppose the idea by a two-to-one margin (32% support / 67% oppose).
The public is divided by partisanship over whether to ease restrictions on fossil fuel drilling and production. Americans are split evenly on this proposal (48% support / 47% oppose). While Democrats overwhelmingly oppose easing restrictions on fossil fuels (81% oppose) and Republicans overwhelmingly support the idea (76% support), independents are closely divided (47% support / 51% oppose).
The Economist + YouGov – Americans oppose withdrawing from the Paris Agreement and are split on scaling back EV goals [Topline, Crosstabs]
Withdrawal from the Paris Agreement is unpopular. As in the Reuters/Ipsos survey, The Economist and YouGov find that Americans oppose withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accords by a double-digit margin (33% support / 44% oppose). An additional one in five (22%) say that they aren’t sure whether they support or oppose the idea.
Americans have mixed feelings about scaling back EV goals. As Trump has committed to ending a fictional “electric vehicle mandate,” Americans have more nuanced views about the transition to EVs.
The Economist and YouGov finds that Americans are split over a proposal to “revoke a goal of having 50% of U.S. vehicle sales be electric by 2030,” with 44% in favor of revoking the goal and 39% opposed.
Underscoring how politicized the discourse over electric vehicles has become, Democrats widely oppose scaling back EV targets (23% support / 63% oppose), Republicans overwhelmingly support scaling them back (70% support / 18% oppose), and independents are divided (39% support / 38% oppose).
Evergreen Action + YouGov – Voters overwhelmingly agree that the government should maintain incentives for clean energy [Release, Memo, Topline]
Around two-thirds of voters agree that climate change is having an impact today, as a large majority say that climate change is likely fueling extreme weather events. Evergreen Action and YouGov find that 66% of voters believe that “the impacts of climate change are being experienced now.”
Most Americans interpret extreme weather events as evidence of these climate impacts: around three-quarters (76%) say that it is likely that climate change is driving the increasing number of major weather events over the last decade.
Voters widely agree that the country should be emphasizing clean energy and maintaining policies that incentivize it. Voters support keeping incentives for clean energy by a 61%-18% margin after reading the following explanation of the tax credits and other incentives that are currently offered by the federal government:
“To strengthen America’s clean energy competitiveness and greatly reduce climate pollution, the federal government offers tax credits, rebates, and other incentives to build up clean industries and encourage clean energy usage, like solar panels, wind power, electric cars and trucks, and energy-efficient household appliances.”
Additionally, by a 64%-35% margin, voters say that it is better for U.S. energy policy to focus on expanding the use of clean energy such as solar and wind (64%) than to focus on expanding production of fossil fuel such as coal, oil, and gas (35%).
Investments in energy efficiency and U.S. clean energy supply chains are particularly popular. Out of several clean energy investments tested in the survey, incentives for energy efficiency and made-in-America clean energy products rise to the top as the most popular:
- 77% support making home improvements more affordable by providing rebates for improving home efficiency by purchasing new windows or doors and adding insulation
- 73% support incentives to encourage businesses to manufacture solar panels and other clean energy goods in America instead of overseas
- 72% support incentives for buying new energy-efficient appliances, like heat pumps, to make the initial purchase more affordable and decrease monthly energy bills
- 66% support tax credits for American families to cut their power bills by adding panels to their homes
- 66% support making energy more affordable by providing tax credits to increase the supply of cheaper energy sources, such as wind and solar power, compared to fossil fuels like oil and gas
- 64% support funds for local governments and nonprofit electric co-ops to build clean energy projects locally
Voters also overwhelmingly support efforts to reduce pollution in communities that have been most impacted. In addition to clean energy incentives, Evergreen Action and YouGov gauged attitudes about two other Inflation Reduction Act policies that both earn commanding support: investments to reduce pollution and improve air quality and clean water in communities with a history of high pollution (76% support), and fees for oil and gas companies that are found to have leaked methane gas pollution into the air (71% support).
Progressive Change Institute + Data for Progress – Voters are deeply concerned that DOGE will cut environmental cleanup and federal disaster response [Release, Crosstabs]
Voters are seriously worried about a variety of possible DOGE cuts, including to environmental programs. In a test of several programs that may be cut by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the Progressive Change Institute and Data for Progress find that voters have the deepest concerns about cutting Social Security benefits (70% “very concerned”) and health care benefits such as Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act (65% “very concerned”).
Additionally, around half say that they are “very concerned” about possible cuts to federal disaster response and weather monitoring (49%) and to environmental and toxic waste cleanup (49%).
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