Environmental Polling Roundup – March 31, 2023
HEADLINES
- Heatmap – Americans overwhelmingly want the U.S. to act on climate; the public views costs and corporate special interests as the biggest obstacles to action (Article, Topline)
- Fossil Free Media + Data for Progress – President Biden’s ratings on climate and the environment have slipped in recent months among Democrats and young voters; news about the Willow project drops his ratings among Democrats further, as voters – especially Democrats – don’t want to prioritize fossil fuel projects on public lands (Article, Crosstabs)
- Yale + GMU – Many of the constituencies that have heard the least about the IRA are also the most inclined to support it if they learn about it (Article)
- Data for Progress – Voters are widely concerned about the environmental impacts of plastic pollution and support a range of policy proposals to reduce single-use plastics and increase plastic recycling (Article, Crosstabs)
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- There is a poll-backed argument that President Biden’s Willow decision backfired politically, and that he needs to do more on climate to rectify it. Polling from Fossil Free Media and Data for Progress, conducted in October 2022 and March 2023, finds that President Biden’s approval on climate and environmental issues has dropped sharply among Democrats and younger voters in recent months. The March poll additionally finds that Biden’s standing with his base could drop much further as awareness of the Willow project increases. Meanwhile, Democrats and younger voters both widely back President Biden’s original campaign promise to end new oil and gas leases on public lands.
- Advocates need to emphasize how corporate special interests are blocking climate action. New polling by Heatmap finds that Americans view corporate special interests and the costs of the clean energy transition as roughly equally powerful obstacles to progress on climate change in Washington. This makes it all the more important for advocates to clarify how corporate special interests like the fossil fuel lobby are using the influence they’ve bought in Washington to block the transition to cleaner, less expensive energy sources.
- Women, Black Americans, younger Americans, and lower-income Americans are prime targets for communications about the IRA. Polling by Yale and George Mason finds that all of these audiences have particularly low awareness of the Inflation Reduction Act but all widely support it after they learn about it.
GOOD DATA POINTS TO HIGHLIGHT
- [Solar] 94% of Americans who have rooftop solar panels in their community say that rooftop solar has been beneficial to their community [Heatmap]
- [Climate Change] 74% of Americans say that it’s important for the United States to mitigate the effects of climate change [Heatmap]
- [Climate Change] 69% of Americans worry about what climate change means for their kids [Heatmap]
- [Climate Change] 65% of Americans worry about what climate change means for them personally [Heatmap]
- [Energy + Public Lands] By a 56%-35% margin, voters say that the federal government should prioritize clean energy projects over fossil fuel projects when allowing new energy projects on public lands [Fossil Free Media + Data for Progress]
- [Biden + Corporate Accountability] By an 80%-12% margin, voters support President Biden’s original campaign promise to take action against polluters who knowingly harm the environment or conceal information regarding health risks
- [Biden + Clean Energy] By a 57%-32% margin, voters support President Biden’s original campaign promise to ensure a 100% clean energy power sector by no later than 2035
- [Issue Priority] More Americans say that climate/environment is the number one “most important issue” for them than any other issue besides inflation/prices, health care, the economy/jobs, and national security [The Economist + YouGov]
FULL ROUNDUP
Heatmap – Americans overwhelmingly want the U.S. to act on climate; the public views costs and corporate special interests as the biggest obstacles to action (Article, Topline)
This poll released to coincide with the launch of Heatmap, a new climate-focused media company, confirms that the public is widely concerned about climate change and its personal impacts:
- 69% worry about what climate change means for their kids
- 67% worry about what climate change means for their own home
- 65% worry about what climate change means for them personally
Additionally, the poll finds that Americans are most eager for climate action from the United States compared to other global actors such as large corporations, the United Nations, and other countries.
Nearly three-quarters say that it’s important for the United States to mitigate the effects of climate change (74%), including a majority (56%) who say it’s “very important” for the country to act on the problem.
And while the public doesn’t believe that any other entities are quite as important as the United States in addressing the problem, around two-thirds of Americans also recognize that China (67% important, 48% “very” important), large corporations (67% important, 48% “very” important), and the United Nations (65% important, 46% “very” important”) have important roles to play in mitigating climate change.
When asked about potential barriers to finding “renewable and sustainable solutions to address climate change” in the United States, corporate special interests and the rising cost of living emerge as the biggest perceived barriers to climate action. Here are the percentages that rank each of the potential barriers in the survey as “extremely serious” problems:
- The cost of living for American families keeps going up year after year, making it hard to prioritize converting to renewable energy alternatives – 43% “extremely serious” problem
- Lobbyists and special interests have too much power in Washington – 41%
- Big corporations have too much power in Washington – 40%
- Corporations are polluting our air and our water with no consequences – 38%
- Extreme and unpredictable weather events like hurricanes and wildfires are getting worse and worse every year – 33%
- Oil and gas corporations are standing in the way of government taking the action we need on climate change – 30%
- Big corporations are standing in the way of government taking the action we need on climate change – 30%
It’s worth noting the relatively low ranking of oil and gas corporations on the list of perceived obstacles, especially compared to lobbyists/special interests and corporate influence in Washington. This finding suggests that it’s important to connect the dots for the public when holding oil and gas companies accountable on climate change and clearly explain how they’re blocking action: by buying power and influence in Washington with their lobbying and political donations so that they can keep polluting our air and water with no consequences.
Fossil Free Media + Data for Progress – President Biden’s ratings on climate and the environment have slipped in recent months among Democrats and young voters; news about the Willow project drops his ratings among Democrats further, as voters – especially Democrats – don’t want to prioritize fossil fuel projects on public lands (Article, Crosstabs)
Drawing on national polls conducted in October 2022 and March 2023, Fossil Free Media and Data for Progress find that the Biden Administration’s approval on climate change and the environment continues to be underwater and is slipping among core constituencies.
Overall, the Biden administration’s rating on climate and the environment is about as negative now (39% approve / 47% disapprove, with 15% not sure) as it was in October (42% approve / 52% disapprove, with 6% not sure).
Meanwhile, Biden’s ratings on climate and environmental issues have declined sharply among Democrats and young voters since late last year:
- Democrats now approve of the Biden administration’s handling of climate and the environment by a 48-point margin (69% approve / 21% disapprove), down from a 68-point margin in October (82% approve / 14% approve)
- Young voters aged 18-29 now disapprove of the Biden administration’s handling of climate and the environment by a 17-point margin (35% approve / 52% disapprove), down from a four-point margin of approval in October (48% approve / 44% disapprove)
Additionally, the new March poll indicates that coverage of the Willow project could lead to an even larger drop in Biden’s standing on climate and the environment with Democrats – especially when the Willow decision is contrasted with Biden’s campaign promises on oil and gas drilling.
The poll finds that awareness of the Willow project is currently very low (only 23% of voters say they’ve heard at least “some” about it, including only 5% who have heard “a lot”), which suggests that the political impact of it hasn’t yet baked in.
Early on in the survey, respondents were asked to rate their approval of the Biden administration’s handling of climate and the environment. They were then shown the two sentences below before being asked a second time to rate their approval of the Biden administration on climate and the environment:
“During his presidential campaign, Joe Biden pledged to end oil and gas leasing on public lands. The Biden Administration recently approved the Willow project, a new oil and gas drilling field led by large oil company ConocoPhillips on public lands in the Alaskan Arctic.”
This information about Willow leads to a slight dip in Biden’s approval on climate and the environment overall – from an eight-point margin of disapproval on the first ask (39% approve / 47% disapprove) to a twelve-point margin of disapproval on the second ask (38% approve / 50% disapprove).
Among Democratic voters, meanwhile, the news about Willow causes a dramatic decline in Biden’s standing on climate and the environment. Democrats shift from a 48-point margin of approval on the first ask in the poll about Biden’s handling of climate and the environment (69% approve / 21% disapprove) to just a 15-point margin of approval after seeing the information about Willow (54% approve / 39% disapprove).
Voters widely prefer that the federal government prioritize “clean energy projects, like wind turbines and solar farms” (56%) when considering new energy projects on public lands over “new fossil fuel projects, like oil and gas drilling sites” (35%). This preference is particularly strong among the constituencies that Biden is bleeding support from on climate/environmental issues, including Democrats (77% of whom prefer clean energy projects over fossil fuel projects on public lands) and young voters aged 18-29 (68% of whom prefer clean energy projects).
Further, Biden’s original campaign proposal to end new leases for oil and gas drilling on America’s public lands attracts slightly more support (45%) than opposition (42%) among voters overall and is especially popular with Democrats (66% support / 19% oppose) and young voters aged 18-29 (57% support / 26% oppose).
Yale + GMU – Many of the constituencies that have heard the least about the IRA are also the most inclined to support it if they learn about it (Article)
This new article from the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (YPCCC), drawing on findings from the December 2022 wave of Yale and George Mason’s “Climate Change in the American Mind Survey,” illuminates an important disconnect in public perceptions about the Inflation Reduction Act: in many cases, the audiences that are most inclined to support the IRA are the ones that are hearing the least about it.
Overall, 43% of voters say they have heard “a lot” or “some” about the Inflation Reduction Act and 68% say they support it after reading a brief description of it.
Several groups are both less likely than average to have heard about the IRA and widely supportive of it after being informed about the bill, making these audiences prime targets for communications about the IRA whether you’re looking to boost support for IRA policies or increase public awareness about IRA incentives. These low-information / high-support audiences include:
- Black Americans (27% heard about the IRA, 78% support it after learning about it)
- Women (33% heard about the IRA, 75% support it after learning about it)
- Gen Z / millennials (33% heard about the IRA, 78% support it after learning about it)
- Americans with no college education (30% heard about the IRA, 66% support it after learning about it)
- Americans with household incomes under $50,000 (27% heard about the IRA, 72% support it after learning about it)
Data for Progress – Voters are widely concerned about the environmental impacts of plastic pollution and support a range of policy proposals to reduce single-use plastics and increase plastic recycling (Article, Crosstabs)
Polls consistently find that the overwhelming majority of Americans are concerned about plastic pollution, especially the harm it does to oceans.
Data for Progress affirms that finding here and additionally finds that, while voters recognize that the plastics industry naturally has the biggest role to play in addressing the problem, voters also see a large role for individuals like themselves in helping to reduce plastic waste:
- 65% say the plastics industry has “a lot of responsibility” to address plastic pollution
- 52% say the recycling industry has “a lot of responsibility”
- 49% say the federal government has “a lot of responsibility”
- 43% say the fossil fuels industry has “a lot of responsibility”
- 42% say the richest 1% has “a lot of responsibility”
- 41% say they personally have “a lot of responsibility”
- 41% say their community has “a lot of responsibility”
Encouragingly, most voters say that they are already taking personal actions to reduce plastic pollution. These common actions include:
- Recycling household products (70%)
- Buying more products that can be recycled (63%)
- Using fewer plastic bags, bottles, and containers (62%)
- Buying more products that are made out of recycled materials (61%)
Data for Progress further finds that voters overwhelmingly support a range of proposals to reduce plastic pollution:
- 82% support the U.S. implementing legislation along the lines of the High Ambition Coalition proposal, with a focus on cutting back plastic consumption, creating standards for the durability and recyclability of plastic, and establishing environmentally sound processes for managing and recycling plastic waste
- 78% support reuse programs in their community when these programs are described as “public-private partnerships that encourage public buildings, restaurants, businesses, event venues, and other facilities to move away from single-use plastics toward the use of reusable products, like drink containers”
- 69% support a ban on single-use plastics in their community
- 62% support the “Skip-the-Stuff Bill” when it’s described as a bill “which would prohibit takeout and delivery restaurants from providing single-use plastic utensils, condiments, or napkins unless these items are requested by the customer”
Additionally, depending on how it’s described, 77%-78% support the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act to reduce the amount of wasteful plastic produced and reform the waste and recycling systems.
Related Resources
Environmental Polling Roundup – August 6th, 2021
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