Environmental Polling Roundup – November 3, 2023
HEADLINES
Climate Power + Fossil Free Media + Data for Progress – Support for fossil fuel accountability spans the political spectrum, as voters widely agree that polluters should pay for their climate damage and pay a tax on their excess profits; more than two-thirds say that expanding clean energy will positively impact the economy [Article, Memo, Crosstabs]
Gallup – Black and Hispanic Americans feel particularly vulnerable to extreme weather, reporting less confidence in their local governments and less preparedness in their communities [Article]
Data for Progress – Two-thirds of voters say that they would support having a publicly owned utility as their electricity provider; having a say over electricity rates is the biggest perceived benefit [Article, Crosstabs]
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Fossil fuel accountability is a popular, bipartisan proposition. While there are no magic words to erase the current partisan divides over climate change and energy, the idea that fossil fuel companies should pay for their climate damage consistently unites voters across partisan lines. Climate Power, Fossil Free Media, and Data for Progress find that majorities of voters of all partisan affiliations support making climate polluters pay their fair share for damage from climate disasters. Additionally, they find that majorities of voters across party lines support an excess profits tax on fossil fuel companies and prefer political candidates who will stand up to fossil fuel CEOs.
- Voters are feeling optimistic about clean energy. Recent polls show that supporters of the clean energy transition are now winning the debate on jobs and the economy. To that end, Climate Power, Fossil Free Media, and Data for Progress find that voters overwhelmingly say that expanding clean energy production will have a positive impact on the U.S. economy and widely expect that clean energy will produce more good jobs in the U.S. in the coming decades than fossil fuels.
GOOD DATA POINTS TO HIGHLIGHT
- [Polluter Accountability] 75% of voters support a tax on the excess profits of oil and gas companies [Climate Power + Fossil Free Media + Data for Progress]
- [Polluter Accountability] 70% of voters support making polluters pay for climate damages after learning that some cities and states are suing fossil fuel companies for damage from climate disasters [Climate Power + Fossil Free Media + Data for Progress]
- [Polluter Accountability] 63% of voters say that CEOs of oil and gas companies have too much power in America’s political system [Climate Power + Fossil Free Media + Data for Progress]
- [Polluter Accountability + Elections] By a 71%-20% margin, voters say that they are more likely to vote for a candidate for Congress who will stand up to oil and gas company CEOs (71%) over a candidate who supports oil and gas company CEOs (20%) [Climate Power + Fossil Free Media + Data for Progress]
- [Clean Energy + Economy] 68% of voters say that expanding clean energy production in America will have a positive impact on the economy [Climate Power + Fossil Free Media + Data for Progress]
- [Clean Energy + Jobs] By a 58%-34% margin, voters believe that the clean energy industry (58%) is likely to create more new jobs over the next several decades than the oil and gas industry (34%) [Climate Power + Fossil Free Media + Data for Progress]
FULL ROUNDUP
Climate Power + Fossil Free Media + Data for Progress – Support for fossil fuel accountability spans the political spectrum, as voters widely agree that polluters should pay for their climate damage and pay a tax on their excess profits; more than two-thirds say that expanding clean energy will positively impact the economy [Article, Memo, Crosstabs]
This new polling from Climate Power, Fossil Free Media, and Data for Progress confirms that voters of all political affiliations want to see oil and gas companies held accountable for damaging the climate and price gouging consumers.
The idea that oil and gas companies should pay their fair share for the damage from climate disasters comes across as common sense to voters, regardless of party. Over three-quarters of voters (77%) agree that “if oil and gas companies have known for decades that their products were hurting the climate, but lied to the public, they should pay some of the costs for the damages we’re now experiencing.” This statement draws agreement from 91% of Democrats, 75% of independent voters, and 63% of Republicans.
Additionally, seven in ten voters (70%) support making polluters pay for climate damages after learning that cities and states are paying billions of dollars to deal with climate disasters like wildfires, droughts, and floods and have started to sue fossil fuel companies for their role in exacerbating these disasters. This idea to hold polluters financially responsible for climate damages also draws support from majorities of Democrats (86%), independent voters (65%), and Republicans (57%).
Voters across the political spectrum also want to see oil and gas companies held responsible for their price gouging after exploiting recent disruptions in the global energy supply. About four in ten voters say that oil and gas companies (39%) and oil and gas CEOs (42%) deserve “a great deal” of blame for high energy prices today. Many voters also assign “a great deal” of blame to Saudi Arabia, Russia, and other members of OPEC+ (47%) and to conflicts across the world that are impacting oil-producing countries (42%).
While voters naturally attribute high energy prices in large part to world events that have disrupted energy supplies, they also fault fossil fuel companies for exploiting these types of crises. Three-quarters of voters (75%) agree that “CEOs of fossil fuel companies are taking advantage of skyrocketing energy prices caused by conflict in Ukraine and the Middle East,” including large majorities of Democrats (87%), independents (70%), and Republicans (68%).
And after learning that oil and gas companies have achieved record profits in the past year due to charging higher energy prices during disruptions of the global energy market, three-quarters (75%) support charging oil and gas companies a tax on their excess profits – again including large majorities of Democrats (85%), independents (73%), and Republicans (65%). This is consistent with polling conducted earlier this year by Climate Power, LCV, and Fossil Free Media, which similarly found broad support for an excess profits tax.
Voters of all party affiliations are also prepared to reward political candidates that take a tougher stance on oil and gas company CEOs, who voters say hold too much influence in today’s politics. More than three in five voters (63%) agree that CEOs of oil and gas companies have too much power in America’s political system, and seven in ten say that they are more likely to vote for a candidate for Congress “who will stand up to oil and gas company CEOs” (71%) over a candidate who “supports oil and gas company CEOs” (20%). Clear majorities of Democrats (83%), independents (67%), and Republicans (61%) all say that they would choose the candidate who will stand up to fossil fuel interests.
The poll further confirms that voters are optimistic about the economic impacts of the clean energy transition. Polls now consistently show that Americans expect that the clean energy transition will have more of a positive than negative impact on job opportunities in the energy sector, and Climate Power, Fossil Free Media, and Data for Progress find here that voters widely believe that the clean energy industry (58%) is likely to create more new jobs in America over the next several decades than the oil and gas industry (34%).
Additionally, they find that two-thirds of voters (68%) believe that expanding clean energy production in America will have a positive impact on the economy while only 23% believe it will have a negative impact.
Gallup – Black and Hispanic Americans feel particularly vulnerable to extreme weather, reporting less confidence in their local governments and less preparedness in their communities [Article]
Reinforcing how communities of color stand on the front lines of the climate emergency, Gallup finds that Black and Hispanic Americans are less confident than White Americans about their communities’ abilities to withstand and recover from extreme weather events.
Most White Americans but less than half of Black and Hispanic Americans agree with the following statements about having adequate government support and community resources to deal with extreme weather events:
- I can depend on my local government to respond appropriately if there was a natural disaster or extreme weather event (58% of White adults, 49% of Hispanic adults, 47% of Black adults)
- My community would have the resources necessary to recover and rebuild if affected by a natural disaster or extreme weather event (53% of White adults, 46% of Hispanic adults, 42% of Black adults)
Black and Hispanic adults are also less likely than White adults to say that their community is adequately prepared for a natural disaster or extreme weather event (47% of White adults, 41% of Hispanic adults, 35% of Black adults) and that they personally would have the resources to recover and rebuild if affected by a natural disaster or extreme weather event (70% of White adults, 53% of Hispanic adults, 56% of Black adults).
Climate displacement also presents a greater threat to Black and Hispanic communities, as White adults (56%) are more likely than Black (49%) or Hispanic adults (45%) to say that they could relocate either temporarily or permanently because of extreme weather.
Data for Progress – Two-thirds of voters say that they would support having a publicly owned utility as their electricity provider; having a say over electricity rates is the biggest perceived benefit [Article, Crosstabs]
Data for Progress finds here that there is clear and bipartisan nationwide interest in moving to publicly owned utilities.
After reading a brief description of publicly owned utilities (“Publicly owned utility companies allow consumers to elect local utility board representatives, who oversee the utility provider by setting policies that affect energy rates, services, and the energy sources that provide electricity to an area”), two-thirds of voters say that they would support having a publicly owned utility as their local utility provider (68% support / 18% oppose).
The poll finds similarly high levels of support for publicly owned utilities across party lines, with 71% of Democrats, 66% of independent voters, and 67% of Republicans in favor of the concept.
Data for Progress interestingly finds broad interest in publicly owned utilities even as the overwhelming majority of voters (76%) say that they approve of their local utility company, indicating that voters are positively drawn to the idea of publicly owned utilities even if they don’t have major issues with their existing providers.
Support for moving to publicly owned utilities is also resilient, as two-thirds of voters (68%) continue to support the idea of having a publicly owned utility in their area after being exposed to the following simulated debate on the topic: “Supporters of publicly owned utilities say they give communities local control, with a direct say in policies that affect energy rates, service, and the energy sources that provide electricity in an area. Opponents of publicly owned utilities say that private utilities are more efficient, leaving the market and private companies to determine energy rates and service based on electricity demand and other market factors.”
The idea of giving consumers a say over their electricity rates is crucial to publicly owned utilities’ appeal. When Data for Progress asked voters to choose the most attractive aspect of having a publicly owned utility, giving consumers a say over their electricity rates ranked as the clear top rationale.
Research by We Make the Future earlier this year similarly found broad support for publicly owned utilities and tested several messaging strategies in favor of the idea.
Related Resources
Environmental Polling Roundup – August 6th, 2021
This post includes a roundup of climate + environment headlines from this week’s public polls, good data points to highlight, and a full roundup including key takeaways from each poll.
Environmental Polling Roundup – August 23rd, 2021
This post includes a roundup of climate + environment headlines from this week’s public polls, good data points to highlight, and a full roundup including key takeaways from each poll.
Environmental Polling Roundup – August 27th, 2021
This post includes a roundup of climate + environment headlines from this week’s public polls, good data points to highlight, and a full roundup including key takeaways from each poll.