Environmental Polling Roundup – July 14, 2023
HEADLINES
Pew – Americans are skeptical that the country will build the infrastructure required for the electric vehicle transition [Article]
Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) – Californians overwhelmingly support climate action at the state level; state residents widely back offshore wind and oppose offshore drilling, as they understand that protecting coastal areas is important for the state economy and quality of life [Release, Full Report, Crosstabs, Time Trends]
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Advocates need to show everyday Americans that the electric vehicle transition is feasible. Pew finds that most Americans are not confident that the country will build enough charging stations and other infrastructure to support a large number of EVs on the roads, and polls consistently show that concerns about the number of charging stations rank on par with vehicle costs as a barrier for consumers to consider electric vehicles. As with other aspects of the clean energy transition, it’s important not just to promise progress on EV infrastructure to the public but to demonstrate that progress is well underway – including by lifting up news stories and delivering hard facts and figures about the rapid increase in charging stations.
- Clean energy advocates are pulling ahead in the debate on jobs, but costs remain a major sticking point. Polling by PPIC in California finds that state residents are more inclined to believe that climate action will create jobs in the state than cost jobs in the state, which mirrors what we’ve been seeing recently in national polling. However, Californians express pessimism about the effects of climate action on gas prices and say that they’re unwilling to pay more for cleaner electricity – which is also consistent with national polling. Climate advocates’ economic arguments are gaining traction when it comes to jobs, but we need to be clear-eyed that we are currently losing the debate on consumer costs and need to devote more of our communications resources to clarifying how the clean energy transition will benefit consumers.
GOOD DATA POINTS TO HIGHLIGHT
- [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]
- [California] 83% of Californians support allowing wind power and wave energy projects off the California coast [PPIC]
- [California] 77% of Californians recognize that climate change has contributed to California’s recent extreme weather events [PPIC]
- [California] 73% of Californians support the state law that requires California to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 40 percent below 1990 levels by the year 2030 [PPIC]
- [California] 68% of Californians support the state law that requires 100 percent of the state’s electricity to come from renewable energy sources by the year 2045 [PPIC]
- [California] 66% of Californians support the state’s cape-and-trade system [PPIC]
FULL ROUNDUP
Pew – Americans are skeptical that the country will build the infrastructure required for the electric vehicle transition [Article]
Recent polling by Pew finds that just under half of Americans (47%) are at least “somewhat” confident that the U.S. will build the charging stations and infrastructure needed to support large numbers of electric vehicles on the roads, and only 17% are “extremely” or “very” confident.
This lack of faith in the feasibility of the electric vehicle transition is a clear obstacle to building public support for it and, as we commonly see in polling about electric vehicles, political polarization plays a major role in Americans’ attitudes:
- 38% of Americans say that they are at least “somewhat” likely to consider purchasing an electric vehicle the next time they buy a vehicle, including the majority of self-identified Democrats (56%) but only 20% of self-identified Republicans
- Nearly two-thirds of Democrats (66%) but only about one-quarter of Republicans (26%) say that they are at least “somewhat” confident that the U.S. will build the charging stations and infrastructure needed to support large numbers of electric vehicles
Confidence about EV infrastructure is closely linked with EV interest: willingness to consider an electric vehicle is high among those who are “extremely” or “very” confident that the U.S. will build enough EV infrastructure (68%), drops to about one-half (53%) among those who are only “somewhat” confident that the infrastructure will be built, and is very low (19%) among those who are “not too confident” or “not at all confident” that the infrastructure will be built.
Because partisanship correlates both with EV interest and confidence in EV infrastructure, it’s hard to say whether confidence in EV infrastructure is impacting people’s willingness to buy EVs independent of their political beliefs. It may be that Republicans are simply less willing to express interest in EVs or confidence in the feasibility of the transition.
However, we know from other polling that concerns about charging infrastructure are a common barrier to EV interest – even on par with the price of EVs. Polling last year by Consumer Reports, GreenLatinos, EVNoire, and the Union of Concerned Scientists found that concerns about charging logistics were the most commonly cited barrier to EV interest across demographic groups.
Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) – Californians overwhelmingly support climate action at the state level; state residents widely back offshore wind and oppose offshore drilling, as they understand that protecting coastal areas is important for the state economy and quality of life [Release, Full Report, Crosstabs, Time Trends]
Water supply tops the list of Californians’ environmental concerns. When asked to name the most important environmental issue facing California, more Californians name drought and water supply issues (22%) than any other topic. Wildfires (18%) and climate change (16%) also rank among Californians’ greatest environmental concerns.
Just over half of state residents (51%) say that the supply of water is a “big” problem in their area of California, and most (53%) also say that their area is still in a drought. Substantial percentages additionally say that wildfires (44%), air pollution (35%), and extreme weather events (35%) are “big” problems where they live.
State residents widely recognize that climate change is making their weather more extreme. Just over three-quarters of Californians (77%) agree that climate change has contributed to California’s recent extreme weather events, and three-quarters (75%) say that climate change has contributed to recent wildfires specifically.
Looking ahead, more than three in five Californians say that they are “very concerned” about both droughts (63%) and wildfires (62%) becoming more severe in the future as a result of climate change.
Californians overwhelmingly support climate action at the state level. More than two-thirds of Californians (68%) say that the state should set its own climate policies, separate from the federal government’s.
Additionally, roughly three-quarters (74%) say that it’s important to them that California “acts as a leader around the world” in addressing climate change – including nearly half (47%) who say that it’s “very important” that California leads on the issue.
California’s major climate policies accordingly attract broad support:
- 73% support the state law that requires California to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 40 percent below 1990 levels by the year 2030
- 69% support the state setting a goal to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions no later than 2045
- 68% support the state law that requires 100 percent of the state’s electricity to come from renewable energy sources by the year 2045
- 66% support the state’s cap-and-trade system
Importantly, Californians are more inclined to believe that the state’s efforts to address climate change will create jobs in the state (41%) than reduce the number of jobs in the state (31%).
Consumer costs are a clear sticking point for Californians, however, with most saying that they would not be willing to pay more for electricity if it were generated by renewable sources like solar and wind (43% willing / 57% not willing). Most residents (57%) also believe that the state’s efforts to address climate change will cause gasoline prices to go up in California.
Californians recognize that environmental protection is important for the state economy and quality of life. The overwhelming majority of Californians (80%) rate climate change as a serious threat to the economy and quality of life for California’s future. Californians also nearly universally agree (94%) that the condition of oceans and beaches is important to the state’s economy and quality of life, with two-thirds (67%) saying that it’s “very” important.
Accordingly, Californians overwhelmingly support (92%) maintaining the rules and boundaries of national marine sanctuaries and California Marine Protected Areas. Additionally, residents oppose the expansion of oil drilling off the California coast by a nearly two-to-one margin (34% favor / 66% oppose).
The overwhelming majority of Californians, meanwhile, support allowing wind power and wave energy projects off the California coast (83% favor / 17% oppose).
State residents support the shift toward electric vehicles, but stop short of supporting a “ban” on gas-powered vehicles. Similar to what we see in the national polling, Californians have mixed attitudes about phasing out gasoline-powered cars.
Californians generally support the Biden administration’s goal of having two-thirds of new vehicles sold in the U.S. be electric by 2032 (58% favor / 42% oppose), and most also support California banning the sale of all new diesel-powered heavy-duty and medium duty trucks in the state by 2036 (56% favor / 43% oppose). However, most Californians oppose the state banning the sale of all new gasoline-powered vehicles in California by 2035 (45% favor / 54% oppose).