Environmental Polling Roundup – October 24, 2025
Headlines
AP-NORC + EPIC – Americans prioritize climate action over fossil fuel expansion and say that the federal government should be doing more to address the issue; many now recognize the environmental threat posed by AI technology [Website, Press Release, Report, Topline]
Data for Progress – Voters primarily blame utility companies for electricity price increases, while few blame solar and wind [Article, Crosstabs]
Pew – Support for nuclear energy is increasing on both sides of the partisan divide, and concerns about climate change are a big factor in its rising popularity [Article]
Key Takeaways
Voters associate rising utility bills more with utility companies’ profit motives than with the energy sources that they use. Data for Progress finds that voters of all political stripes pin the most blame for rising utility bills on utility companies trying to increase their profits. Few voters, including only a small percentage of Republicans, say that reliance on solar and wind energy is the main cause of price increases–indicating that attempts by Trump and Republicans in Congress to lay the blame on so-called “green energy mandates” are not breaking through or credible. Voters are also more likely to blame utility companies or other factors such as increased demand and aging infrastructure than reliance on fossil fuels.
Spiking electricity bills create a clear opening for advocates to push back on attempts to undercut clean energy development. However, data like this indicates that we are more likely to persuade voters with a broader narrative that goes beyond particular energy sources and tells the story of how politicians are putting the profits of corporations–including utilities as well as oil and gas companies–ahead of Americans who are struggling with their energy bills. Recent research commissioned by the EPC, and by Climate Power, provides messaging guidance to that effect.
Americans are starting to connect AI to environmental harms. Most of the polling that we’ve seen on AI has shown that the conversation about AI in energy and environmental advocacy circles is very different from the conversation in the broader public about the technology. Polling by Data for Progress and WE ACT in July, for example, found limited familiarity with data centers and very low awareness about the rapid scale-up in their construction.
Recent polling by AP-NORC and EPIC indicates that the environmental risks of AI are starting to break through, however. Most Americans (71%) express concerns about the technology’s environmental impacts, including 41% who are “extremely” or “very” concerned. For comparison, AP-NORC and EPIC find that AI elicits substantially stronger environmental concerns than other energy- and emissions-intensive industries including cryptocurrency, meat production, and air travel.
The survey further finds that Americans are generally pessimistic about the effects of AI on society, the economy, and their own lives, suggesting that advocates who wish to communicate about the technology’s drawbacks are likely to find a receptive audience.
Good Data Points to Highlight
[Climate Responsibility] 62% of Americans say that oil and gas companies have “a great deal” or “a lot” of responsibility for addressing climate change [AP-NORC + EPIC]
[Climate Responsibility] 60% of Americans say that the federal government has “a great deal” or “a lot” of responsibility for addressing climate change [AP-NORC + EPIC]
[International Action] 60% of Americans say that the U.S. should take a more active role in global efforts to fight climate change, while just 15% say that the U.S. should take a less active role [AP-NORC + EPIC]
[Emissions] By a 41-point margin (56% support / 15% oppose), Americans support federal government regulations to limit emissions from power plants and vehicles [AP-NORC + EPIC]
[Carbon Tax] By a 39-point margin (56% support / 17% oppose), Americans support taxing companies on the carbon that they emit [AP-NORC + EPIC]
[Adaptation/Resilience] By a 34-point margin (51% support / 17% oppose), Americans support the federal government providing funding for states to help communities adapt to climate change [AP-NORC + EPIC]
Full Roundup
AP-NORC + EPIC – Americans prioritize climate action over fossil fuel expansion and say that the federal government should be doing more to address the issue; many now recognize the environmental threat posed by AI technology [Website, Press Release, Report, Topline]
Americans’ top energy/environmental priorities for the federal government include conservation and clean air and water, followed by climate action and clean energy expansion. Half or more rate each of these priorities as “extremely” or “very” important for the federal government to do:
- Protect conservation lands and wildlife – 70% “extremely” or “very” important
- Enforce strict clean air and water regulations – 61%
- Expand the U.S. clean energy industry – 55%
- Reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions – 51%
Meanwhile, only one-quarter or less see it as a high priority to expand fossil fuels or to roll back climate and environmental policies:
- Expand the U.S. fossil fuel industry – 25% “extremely” or “very” important
- Open federal land and water for oil, gas, and mineral extraction – 22%
- Withdraw from international climate agreements – 21%
- Roll back environmental regulations – 20%
Conservation stands out as a particularly bipartisan priority. The majority of Republicans (61%), as well as 80% of Democrats, say that it’s “extremely” or “very” important for the federal government to protect conservation lands and wildlife. Around half of Republicans (47%) also join the large majority of Democrats (78%) in saying that it’s “extremely” or “very” important for the government to enforce strict clean air and water regulations.
The partisan gap is wider on priorities that relate more directly to climate change, including expanding the U.S. clean energy industry (“extremely” or “very” important to 73% of Democrats but only 39% of Republicans) and reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions (“extremely” or “very” important to 73% of Democrats but only 33% of Republicans).
Still, Republicans are more likely to rate the expansion of the clean energy industry as an “extremely” or “very” important priority (39%) than expanding the U.S. fossil fuel industry (36%) or opening more federal land and water for oil, gas, and mineral extraction (32%).
Americans say that the responsibility to address climate change falls most on the federal government and on polluting companies. Americans are about twice as likely to say that the federal government and oil and gas companies have a major responsibility to address the issue than individual people:
- Oil and gas companies – 62% “a great deal” or “a lot” of responsibility for addressing climate change
- The U.S. federal government – 60%
- Large businesses and corporations – 58%
- Developed or industrialized countries outside the U.S. – 53%
- Your local and state government officials – 46%
- Developing countries – 37%
- Individual people – 31%
Majorities agree that the federal government should play a major role both in combating climate change and in dealing with climate impacts like weather disasters. Most Americans (60%) say that the U.S. should take a more active role in global efforts to fight climate change, while just 15% say that the U.S. should take a less active role. Democrats are predictably much more supportive of the U.S. taking leadership on the issue (84%) than Republicans (34%).
Closer to home, large majorities say that the federal government should play a “major” role in handling weather disasters and most also believe that the government should have a major role in addressing climate change to help prevent or mitigate future extreme weather events:
- Providing aid to communities in the immediate aftermath of natural disasters – 77% say that the federal government should have a “major” role
- Tracking weather events and warning people about natural disasters – 75%
- Helping to rebuild communities affected by natural disasters – 74%
- Combatting climate change to try to keep extreme weather from getting worse – 57%
Americans tend to support policy proposals to address climate change more than proposals to expand fossil fuel production. While most Americans support specific proposals to reduce and tax emissions, less than half support proposals to expand fossil fuel production and to increase natural gas exports. The idea of auctioning off more public land for oil drilling is particularly unpopular.
Below are the percentages that support and oppose the federal government taking various actions related to energy and the environment:
- Regulations to limit emissions from power plants and vehicles – 56% support / 15% oppose
- A tax that companies must pay on carbon they emit – 56% support / 15% oppose
- Funding for states to help communities adapt to climate change – 51% support / 17% oppose
- Incentives for nuclear energy development – 43% support / 16% oppose
- Incentives for purchasing electric vehicles – 41% support / 26% oppose
- Expanding U.S. oil and gas production – 42% support / 25% oppose
- Expanding U.S. natural gas exports – 38% support / 19% oppose
- Auctioning off more public land for oil drilling – 18% support / 48% oppose.
Republicans support many climate-friendly policies on balance, but also want to expand fossil fuels. Looking just at Republicans’ attitudes about these same policy proposals, there is clearly a great deal of cross-pressuring as Republicans are amenable to proposals to address climate change but also want to see more fossil fuel development:
- Expanding U.S. oil and gas production – 64% support / 9% oppose among Republicans
- Expanding U.S. natural gas exports – 50% support / 15% oppose among Republicans
- Incentives for nuclear energy development – 48% support / 15% oppose among Republicans
- Regulations to limit emissions from power plants and vehicles – 44% support / 24% oppose among Republicans
- A tax that companies must pay on carbon they emit – 42% support / 28% oppose among Republicans
- Funding for states to help communities adapt to climate change – 36% support / 31% oppose among Republicans
- Auctioning off more public land for oil drilling – 30% support / 31% oppose among Republicans
- Incentives for purchasing electric vehicles – 26% support / 44% oppose among Republicans
The public recognizes that AI poses a specific threat to the environment, and are even more concerned about its societal impacts. More than two-thirds of Americans (71%) say that they are at least “somewhat” concerned about the environmental impacts of the AI industry, including 41% who are “extremely” or “very” concerned about its environmental impacts.
Americans have substantially stronger concerns about the environmental impacts of AI than about the environmental impacts of other industries such as meat production (29% “extremely” or “very” concerned), cryptocurrencies (29%), or air travel (23%).
AP-NORC and EPIC further find that Americans are generally quite pessimistic about the impacts of AI, with more expecting it to have a negative than positive impact on society, the U.S. economy, and their own lives in addition to the environment:
- Society as a whole – 22% expect AI to do more to help / 44% expect AI to do more to hurt
- The U.S. economy – 22% more to help / 36% more to hurt
- The environment – 18% more to help / 33% more to hurt
- You personally – 22% more to help / 26% more to hurt
Heat waves are the most common type of extreme weather that Americans report experiencing, and also have the most intuitive connection to climate change. Confirming what we’ve seen in other polling, more Americans say that they’ve experienced unusual heat than any other type of extreme weather. Below are the percentages who say that their community has experienced various extreme weather events in the past 12 months:
- Unusually hot days – 72% have experienced in the past 12 months
- Poor air quality – 56%
- Severe storms, including hurricanes – 39%
- Flooding – 35%
- Unusually cold days – 33%
- Droughts and water shortages – 32%
- Wildfires – 23%
- Tornadoes – 23%
And when those who experienced each type of extreme weather are asked how much of a factor climate change played in it, unusually hot days again rank at the top of the list:
- Unusually hot days – 58% say that climate change was a “major” factor
- Wildfires – 56%
- Droughts and water shortages – 55%
- Severe storms, including hurricanes – 55%
- Flooding – 52%
- Poor air quality – 51%
- Unusually cold days – 45%
- Tornadoes – 44%
Interest in EVs continues to show a downward trend, with Americans still concerned about their upfront costs. Other research, including by Pew and by Gallup, has found that interest in EVs has declined over the past few years. AP-NORC and EPIC find a similar result here, with 37% of Americans now reporting that they are at least “somewhat” likely to purchase a new or used EV the next time that they’re in the market for a vehicle. This figure is down from 42% in 2024 and 41% in 2023 in AP-NORC and EPIC’s tracking.
Also mirroring what we’ve seen in other polling, AP-NORC and EPIC find that the strongest rationales both for and against EVs relate to costs. Saving money on gas (which 39% say is a “major reason” why they would purchase an EV) is the greatest perceived benefit of EVs, while the high cost of new electric vehicles (which 56% say is a “major reason” why they would not purchase one) ranks as the most significant barrier.
Data for Progress – Voters primarily blame utility companies for electricity price increases, while few blame solar and wind [Article, Crosstabs]
Voters have mixed attitudes about Trump’s handling of energy issues, while his rating on climate change is underwater. Below are the percentages who approve and disapprove of his handling of these and related issues:
- Renewable energy development – 47% approve / 42% disapprove (+5 net)
- Fossil fuel development – 46% approve / 42% disapprove (+4 net)
- Electric utility bills – 42% approve / 46% disapprove (-4 net)
- Climate change – 39% approve / 48% disapprove (-9 net)
- The cost of living – 43% approve / 53% disapprove (-10 net)
Voters trust Democrats more than Republicans on climate change and clean energy, but are split on which party is better at handling utility bills and the cost of living. When asked to choose which party they trust more to handle each topic, climate change once again ranks as a clear strength of the Democratic Party:
- Climate change – 44% Democrats / 30% Republicans (D+14)
- Renewable energy development – Democrats 42% / Republicans 36% (D+6)
- Electric utility bills – 39% Democrats / 38% Republicans (D+1)
- The cost of living – 40% Democrats / 41% Republicans (R+1)
- Fossil fuel development – 37% Democrats / 40% Republicans (R+3)
Majorities of voters across party lines say that they’re paying more for utility bills now than they were a year ago. Around three in five (62%) say that they’re paying more for utilities such as water and electricity now than they were a year ago, including majorities of Democrats (68%), independents (62%), and Republicans (55%).
Utilities are rising more noticeably for voters than other household expenses. Reinforcing what we’ve seen in other surveys, Data for Progress finds that more voters report an increase in their utility bills than in any other item asked about in the survey except for groceries and food:
- Groceries and food – 76% say that they’re paying more than they were a year ago
- Utility bills, such as water and electricity – 62%
- Household goods, such as appliances or furniture – 53%
- Gasoline – 47%
- Housing costs, such as rent or mortgage payments – 41%
- Cars or car payments – 29%
Utility companies receive the most blame for rising bills from all corners of the electorate, and few blame clean energy for high prices. When asked to choose who or what is most responsible for higher electric utility bills, voters are far more likely to blame utility companies’ profit motives than any other factor:
- Utility companies increasing profits – 38%
- Increased energy demand from new industries (like AI) – 14%
- Extreme weather events causing higher energy demand – 11%
- Aging or inadequate energy infrastructure – 10%
- Foreign conflicts limiting energy supply – 9%
- Increased reliance on fossil fuels – 8%
- Increased reliance on wind and solar energy – 5%
Even though Trump and Republicans in Congress have been trying to pin the blame for rising electricity costs on so-called “green energy mandates,” only 6% of Republican voters say that increased reliance on wind and solar is the main reason for rising costs. Utility companies are by far the top target of blame for Democrats (40%), independents (34%), and Republicans (38%).
Pew – Support for nuclear energy is increasing on both sides of the partisan divide, and concerns about climate change are a big factor in its rising popularity [Article]
Support for nuclear energy is increasing in both parties. Pew finds that support for the expansion of nuclear energy has increased by 16 points since 2020 (59% now, up from 43%), including a 15-point increase in that time span among Democrats (up to 52% now) and a 16-point increase among Republicans (up to 69% now).
Republicans tend to support nuclear energy more than Democrats, but it is far less polarizing than other energy sources. While Republicans are 17 points more likely to favor the expansion of nuclear energy (69%) than Democrats (52%), this difference is considerably smaller than the partisan gaps over other major energy sources.
For comparison, Republicans are 52 points more likely than Democrats to support expanding offshore oil and gas drilling, 50 points more likely than Democrats to support expanding coal mining, and 45 points more likely than Democrats to support expanding fracking. Meanwhile, Democrats are 39 points more likely than Republicans to support expanding wind power and 30 points more likely than Republicans to support expanding solar power.
Interestingly, Pew also finds a large gender gap in support for nuclear power as men are 30 points more likely to favor the expansion of nuclear energy (74%) than women are (44%). And while some of this can be explained by the male tilt of the Republican electorate, Pew additionally finds that men are more supportive of nuclear power than women within each party.
The notion that nuclear energy is a “clean” or low-carbon energy source ranks as Americans’ top rationale for supporting it. When Pew asked pro-nuclear respondents in open-ended fashion why they support expanding nuclear energy, the most common responses related to it being a clean or low-carbon energy source. Below are the top rationales for support from pro-nuclear respondents:
- Nuclear is a clean/low-carbon energy source – 40%
- Nuclear is efficient – 20%
- Nuclear is safe/well-regulated/well-staffed – 13%
- Economic benefits – 13%
- Nuclear is reliable/dependable – 10%
Among those who oppose the expansion of nuclear power, meanwhile, safety concerns (44%) are by far the most common reason for their opposition.
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.