Environmental Polling Roundup – May 16, 2025
Headlines
ecoAmerica – The large majority of Americans recognize that some people are harmed more than others by climate change–including younger people, people of color, and people in low-income and rural communities [Website, Full Report, Crosstabs]
WE ACT – Rising energy costs are voters’ top concern about their housing, and support for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) is overwhelming and bipartisan; most are not familiar with the harms of indoor gas appliances [Release, Deck]
Yale + GMU – Most voters say that federal agencies should do more to protect people from the health harms of global warming [Article]
Key Takeaways
The public is primed to stand up for LIHEAP, if they hear about how it’s been cut. WE ACT finds that the large majority of voters, including most Republicans, support LIHEAP when provided with a basic description of it. Data for Progress similarly found strong and bipartisan support for the program, which the Trump administration has essentially eliminated, in a poll last month.
While the gutting of LIHEAP may not be breaking through as much as other recent federal government cuts, it’s a powerful and direct example of how the administration’s energy policies are raising the cost of living for many Americans. The program’s elimination ahead of the summer months will also expose Americans to greater harms from extreme heat, which polls show is the primary way that the public notices the impacts of climate change.
Despite their hazy understanding of environmental and climate justice issues, Americans broadly recognize that climate change has disproportionate impacts on certain communities. Polls consistently show that Americans have a hard time defining the terms “environmental justice” or “climate justice,” though they widely agree on some of the foundational rationales and policy proposals of these movements.
ecoAmerica finds, for example, that four in five Americans recognize that climate change impacts certain people more than others. Younger Americans and low-income communities consistently stand out as groups that Americans believe are relatively more affected, and ecoAmerica finds that most Americans also recognize that climate change disproportionately harms people of color. However, they also find that there is significant room to increase awareness of the disproportionate climate impacts by race–including among “base” audiences that tend to be most supportive of climate and environmental justice, such as Democrats, Black Americans, and Latino Americans.
Good Data Points to Highlight
- [Climate Change] 72% of Americans, including the majority of Republicans (56%), are at least “somewhat” concerned about climate change [ecoAmerica]
- [LIHEAP] 74% of voters, including the majority of Republicans (56%), support LIHEAP after reading a brief description of the program [WE ACT]
- [Housing] 67% of voters support their city or state updating building codes to ensure that housing would be more energy efficient and have weather-proofing that can better withstand extreme heat and cold [WE ACT]
- [Indoor Air Quality] 57% of voters support their city or state creating indoor air quality standards or guidelines to reduce indoor air pollution in homes and buildings [WE ACT]
- [Climate Change + Health] 55% of voters agree that federal agencies such as the CDC, NIH, and FEMA should be doing more to protect people from health problems related to global warming [Yale + GMU]
Full Roundup
ecoAmerica – The large majority of Americans recognize that some people are harmed more than others by climate change–including younger people, people of color, and people in low-income and rural communities [Website, Full Report, Crosstabs]
Seven in ten Americans, including most Republicans, are concerned about climate change. ecoAmerica finds that 72% of Americans are at least “somewhat” concerned about climate change, including nearly nine in ten Democrats (88%), seven in ten independents (71%), and the majority of Republicans (56%).
In a previous poll in late 2024, ecoAmerica found that Americans’ climate concerns were elevated in the immediate aftermath of Trump’s election: 72% of Americans in November 2024 said that they were at least “somewhat” concerned about the issue, compared to 67% in June 2024.
This latest poll indicates that this uptick in climate concern has endured over recent months.
The overwhelming majority of Americans recognize that climate change impacts are unequal. Roughly four in five (81%) agree that “some people are harmed more than others by climate change,” including large majorities of Democrats (91%), independents (79%), and Republicans (72%).
Americans most readily recognize that climate change particularly impacts lower-income and younger people. When prompted about whether climate change is disproportionately harming certain groups, Americans agree most that younger people and future generations are being particularly impacted:
- Younger people and future generations – 72% agree
- Low-income, rural, and labor communities – 67%
- Black, Indigenous, and people of color – 56%
- Women and girls – 54%
There is significant room to increase awareness of the racial disparities in climate impacts, including among “base” audiences for environmental justice such as Democrats and people of color. With ecoAmerica finding that just over half of Americans (56%) believe that Black, Indigenous, and people of color are disproportionately harmed by climate change, there is clearly much room to raise awareness of the disparate impacts of climate change by race.
Even among the audiences who tend to be most supportive of environmental justice when they learn about it, recognition of disproportionate racial impacts is not overwhelming: around seven in ten Democrats (71%) and Black Americans (71%) and around three in five Latino Americans (63%) agree that BIPOC communities are being disproportionately harmed by climate change.
WE ACT – Rising energy costs are voters’ top concern about their housing, and support for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) is overwhelming and bipartisan; most are not familiar with the harms of indoor gas appliances [Release, Deck]
Rising energy costs rank as voters’ number one concern about their housing, as voters say that their electricity costs are increasing more than their gas bills or rent/housing costs. More than four in five voters (83%) say that they’re considered about the cost of electric utilities, ranking this issue even slightly ahead of increases in housing costs (79%) when asked to rate concerns about their home:
- Cost of electric utilities – 83% concerned
- Increases in housing costs – 79%
- Cost of gas utilities – 64%
- Weatherization or protection against extreme weather events, extreme heat, or extreme cold – 60%
- Availability of clean, drinkable water – 55%
- Reliability of heat, cooling, and power in the home – 54%
- Frequency of power outages – 51%
- Indoor air quality – 49%
- Risk of in-home health hazards (e.g., pests, mold, lead, asbestos, etc.) – 47%
- Risk of carbon monoxide leaks or poisoning – 37%
- Risk of gas leaks or gas explosions – 31%
One reason for these acute concerns about electricity costs is that voters say that their electric bills are rising faster than other bills: voters are more likely to report that their electric utility bill has increased in the past year (80%) than their gas utility bill (68%) or rent or housing costs (67%). Voters are also more likely to say that their electricity bill has increased “a lot” in the past year (41%) than their rent or housing costs (35%) or their gas utility bill (29%).
Voters overwhelmingly support LIHEAP when provided with a brief description of it. Nearly three-quarters of voters (74%) support the program, which has essentially been eliminated by the Trump administration, after seeing the following description:
“As you may or may not know, there is a program called the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which provides low-income families with federal assistance to help cover the costs of home energy bills and weatherization, and provides funding during crises related to extreme weather.”
Support for LIHEAP spans partisan lines, as 92% of Democrats, 77% of independents, and 56% of Republicans support the program after seeing this description. Meanwhile, only 18% of voters are opposed to the program.
Data for Progress similarly found overwhelming and bipartisan support for LIHEAP in an April poll.
Voters also support policies to make housing more energy-efficient and to improve indoor air quality. WE ACT finds that majorities of voters support the following proposals to improve the quality of housing in their area:
- Your city or state creating updated building codes to ensure that housing would be more energy efficient and have weather-proofing that can better withstand extreme heat and cold (67% support / 25% oppose)
- Your city or state creating indoor air quality standards or guidelines to reduce indoor air pollution in homes and buildings (57% support / 35% oppose)
Additionally, after brief exposure to some of the common concerns about indoor gas use, more voters support than oppose transitioning from using gas to heat and power public housing to using clean energy alternatives (48% support / 40% oppose).
Most voters are not familiar with the negative impacts of indoor gas use. Less than half of voters (46%) say that they’re at least “somewhat” familiar with the negative effects of using gas to power everyday appliances such as heaters and stoves.
Lower-income, BIPOC residents have significant concerns about the safety risks of indoor oil and gas after learning about them. Around four in ten voters overall say that they’re at least “somewhat” concerned about each of the following dangers of indoor gas use after reading about them:
- Burning gas or oil creates carbon dioxide (CO2) and other polluting gasses that contribute to the effects of climate change – 45% concerned
- Burning of gas or oil creates carbon monoxide, an odorless and colorless gas that can result in carbon monoxide poisoning or even death when inhaled for prolonged periods – 44%
- Burning of gas or oil creates Nitrogen Oxides (NOx), which are gasses that cause heart- and breathing-related illnesses, like heart disease and asthma, when exposed to them over time – 43%
- Using gas to heat or power a home creates indoor air pollution and lowers air quality in and outside the home – 41%
- Gas is highly flammable, and there is a high risk of fires or explosions when using a pilot light for too long, or when there is a leak somewhere in the system – 41%
WE ACT finds that concerns about these negative effects of indoor gas use are much higher among lower-income BIPOC voters. The survey oversampled low-income BIPOC voters in Chicago, Houston, and New York. Within this oversample group, 72%-75% say that they’re at least “somewhat” concerned about each of the dangers of indoor gas use that the survey asked about and 41%-47% are “very” concerned about each one.
Voters are responsive to arguments for transitioning public housing away from gas for heat and power, with a justice- and health-focused message testing as the strongest. WE ACT tested eight different arguments for transitioning away from using gas to heat and power public housing. Each of these arguments was rated as at least “somewhat” convincing by half or more of voters, and the following message centered around health and justice rated as the most convincing among voters overall:
“Everyone deserves the right to live in a safe and healthy home environment. But families with lower income and communities of color are more likely to experience the negative effects of indoor air pollution and hazards like mold, which cause asthma and heart disease. Ensuring that these communities have access to pollution-free, lower-cost heating will bring us closer to making sure everyone can live in dignity and health in their homes.”
Within the oversample of low-income BIPOC voters, the following message about children’s health also ranked as particularly persuasive:
“Choosing to prioritize new pollution-free and lower-cost alternatives to gas will help us protect the health of our children and our future. Children are more likely to be impacted by the negative effects caused by toxic gases created by burning fossil fuels in stoves and for heating, and are more likely to develop asthma as a result. Transitioning public housing units away from gas will help us protect our children’s health.”
Electrification advocates need to address concerns about costs and reliability. The survey also showed voters three arguments against transitioning away from indoor gas use in public housing, and voters generally found that these arguments were slightly more convincing than the arguments in favor of the transition.
These effective opposition arguments included common refrains questioning the affordability and reliability of clean energy. Consistent with what we’ve seen in other research, these results underline the need for clean energy and electrification advocates to address cost and reliability concerns head-on when talking about transitioning away from fossil fuels.
Yale + GMU – Most voters say that federal agencies should do more to protect people from the health harms of global warming [Article]
Counter to the current administration’s efforts, most voters want the federal government to do more about the health impacts of climate change. Yale and GMU find that most voters (55%) agree that federal agencies such as the CDC, NIH, and FEMA should be doing more to protect people from health problems related to global warming.
Their survey was fielded in December, after Trump’s election but before he took office for his second term, so there is reason to believe that there would be even greater agreement now that these agencies have been cut and the Trump administration has dramatically rolled back environmental protections. At the time, only 15% of voters said that these federal agencies should do less to protect people from global warming’s health impacts.
Related Resources
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