Environmental Polling Roundup – September 15, 2023
HEADLINES
Yale + GMU – Americans are largely unfamiliar with the concept of “climate justice,” but support the goals of climate justice and key climate justice policies when they learn about them [Release, Full Report]
Data for Progress – Halted EPA and FDA site inspections rank among voters’ greatest concerns about a federal government shutdown [Article, Crosstabs]
Quinnipiac – Majorities of Americans say that climate change is caused by humans and contributing to recent extreme weather events [Release, Report + Crosstabs]
[Youth] American University – Climate and the environment are top issues for young Americans in the 2024 elections [Article, Website, Full Report]
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Americans are inclined to support climate justice, but they need much more education about it. Consistent with other polling we’ve seen on climate and environmental justice, Yale and George Mason find that Americans tend to support the goals of climate justice even though they are largely unfamiliar with “climate justice” as a concept. Additionally, Americans do not widely understand or recognize that climate change has a disproportionate impact on certain groups. In particular, recognition of the racial disparities in the impacts of climate change is quite low. While these findings show that the public needs much more basic education about climate injustice and the need to remedy it, voters already support a wide range of climate actions that are targeted to low-income communities and communities of color – including increasing federal funding and strengthening the enforcement of pollution limits in communities that have disproportionately been impacted by air and water pollution.
- The public is concerned about the health and safety consequences of a government shutdown, in addition to the economic consequences. Data for Progress finds that halting the EPA and FDA’s site inspections for human and environmental safety risks is one of the most concerning consequences of a federal government shutdown, presenting a compelling environmental connection for advocates who wish to communicate about the prospective shutdown in terms of environmental protection. For advocates with the scope to communicate about the dangers of a shutdown in broader terms, other polling has found that voters are persuaded by arguments that the shutdown would stop or delay benefits for popular government programs like Social Security, nutrition assistance, and veterans’ benefits.
GOOD DATA POINTS TO HIGHLIGHT
- [Climate Justice + Green Spaces] 81% of voters support creating more parks and green spaces in low-income communities and communities of color [Yale + GMU]
- [Climate Justice + Pollution] 77% of voters support strengthening enforcement of industrial pollution limits in low-income communities and communities of color that are disproportionately impacted by air and water pollution [Yale + GMU]
- [Climate Justice + Jobs] 75% of voters support developing a national program to train people from low-income communities and communities of color for new jobs in the renewable energy industry [Yale + GMU]
- [Climate Justice] 53% of voters support the goals of climate justice after reading a brief description of the concept [Yale + GMU]
- [Government Shutdown] 71% of voters are concerned that a government shutdown would halt site inspections by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for potential human and environmental safety risks [Data for Progress]
- [Climate Change Concerns] 67% of Americans are concerned about climate change, including 41% who are “very” concerned [Quinnipiac]
- [Climate Change Causes] 59% of Americans believe that recent climate change is primarily caused by human activity [Quinnipiac]
- [Climate Change + Extreme Weather] 58% of Americans believe that the extreme weather events in the United States over the past few years are related to climate change [Quinnipiac]
- [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]
FULL ROUNDUP
Yale + GMU – Americans are largely unfamiliar with the concept of “climate justice,” but support the goals of climate justice and key climate justice policies when they learn about them [Release, Full Report]
This new report represents some of the most in-depth polling we’ve seen on Americans’ attitudes about climate justice, and includes several important takeaways for advocates.
Americans aren’t convinced that climate change affects different groups in the country more than others. About half of Americans (49%) agree that global warming harms some groups of people in the United States more than others, while 29% disagree and 22% aren’t sure.
This shows that Americans lean toward believing that climate change has disproportionate impacts on certain people, but need more of a push in order for this idea to become generally accepted.
Advocates need to communicate much more about the disproportionate impacts of climate change on communities of color, as Americans think relatively little about race when considering the groups that might be disproportionately harmed by climate change.
In an open-ended question about the groups of people that are more harmed by global warming than others, Americans are most likely to name poor or low-income Americans (22%) as a group that faces disproportionate harm.
Coastal residents (10%) are the public’s next-most cited example of a group that is relatively more harmed by global warming, while just 4% name people of color as a disproportionately impacted group.
Even among Democrats, who typically support climate justice policies in large numbers, only 7% think of people of color top-of-mind when asked to name groups of Americans that are harmed by global warming more than others.
When asked directly about the relative impacts of global warming on different groups, Americans also more readily accept that lower-income people face disproportionate harm than people of color:
- 48% agree that global warming harms lower-income people more than it harms wealthier people (24% disagree)
- 40% agree that global warming harms everyone about equally (28% disagree)
- 33% agree that a history of racist policies makes people of color more likely than white people to be harmed by global warming (30% disagree)
- 32% agree that global warming harms people of color more than it harms white people (29% disagree)
- 13% agree that global warming harms women more than it harms men (33% disagree)
It’s important to note that, while there are stark partisan divides on all of these questions, low recognition of climate injustice cuts across all partisan factions. For example, while Democrats (58%) are much more likely than Republicans (7%) to agree that global warming harms people of color more than it harms white people, this still leaves about four in ten Democrats who need to be convinced that climate change disproportionately impacts people of color.
Everyday people aren’t familiar with the term “climate justice,” but they support the concept. As another reminder that terminology that is common in advocacy circles can confuse the general public, just 18% of Americans say that they’ve heard or read at least “some” about climate justice. Nearly two-thirds of Americans (65%), including the majority of Democrats (54%), acknowledge that they’ve heard “nothing at all” about the topic.
When provided with the brief definition below, however, most Americans (53%) say that they support the goals of climate justice. About one-quarter (26%) say that they neither support nor oppose the goals of climate justice after learning the definition, while 18% say that they oppose the goals of climate justice.
“Climate justice refers to the idea that global warming affects everyone, but certain communities are harmed more than others, especially low-income communities and communities of color. The goals of climate justice are to reduce these unequal harms,
include these communities in decision-making, and ensure they receive a fair share of the benefits of climate action (such as good jobs, cleaner air and water, better health, etc.).”
Voters support a range of climate justice policies. Yale and GMU encouragingly find that voters widely support the transition to clean energy, as well as several specific policies that are targeted to make sure that low-income communities and communities of color benefit:
- 81% support creating more parks and green spaces in low-income communities and communities of color
- 77% support strengthening enforcement of industrial pollution limits in low-income communities and communities of color that are disproportionately impacted by air and water pollution
- 76% support providing federal funding to make residential buildings in low-income communities more energy efficient
- 75% support developing a national program to train people from low-income communities and communities of color for new jobs in the renewable energy industry, such as wind and solar
- 75% support developing a national program to train people who work in the fossil fuel industry for new jobs in the renewable energy industry, such as wind and solar
- 70% support increasing federal funding to low-income communities and communities of color who are disproportionately harmed by air and water pollution
- 69% support transitioning the U.S. economy – including electric utilities, transportation, buildings, and industry – from fossil fuels to 100% clean energy by 2050
Data for Progress – Halted EPA and FDA site inspections rank among voters’ greatest concerns about a federal government shutdown [Article, Crosstabs]
Data for Progress has released this fresh polling on a potential government shutdown, building on two reports from Navigator Research last month to help advocates communicate with the public about the situation.
Data for Progress finds that health and safety concerns rank as high as economic concerns when Americans think about a potential government shutdown. Voters are especially concerned about the EPA and FDA potentially having to halt site inspections for human and environmental safety risks, ranking this as one of their top concerns about a shutdown.
Here’s the list of potential consequences that Data for Progress asked about, ranked by the percentage of voters who are at least “somewhat” concerned about each:
- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients losing access to their food benefits 30 days after a shutdown – 75% concerned
- Federal contract workers being put on temporary leave, meaning they are not allowed to work, do not receive paychecks, and do not receive back pay – 71%
- The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) temporarily halting site inspections for potential human and environmental safety risks – 71%
- Travel delays due to air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents working without pay or not reporting to work at all – 67%
- State governments being forced to pay for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and other programs that are typically administered by the federal government – 64%
- Federal workers being put on temporary leave, meaning they are not allowed to work and do not receive paychecks, but are guaranteed to receive back pay – 63%
- The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) putting workers on temporary leave, leading to delays in approvals of mortgages and other loans – 60%
- The National Park Service turning away visitors to parks, national monuments, and other sites – 53%
Data for Progress additionally finds that a government shutdown is likely to damage both parties’ standing with the public, with voters unsure who to blame more if it happens. The plurality of voters (40%) say that they would blame both parties equally, while 29% say that they would blame the Republican Party and 25% say that they would blame the Democratic Party.
The polling by Navigator last month similarly found that voters were inclined to blame both parties about equally in the event of a government shutdown. Additionally, Navigator’s polling about the topic has found that:
- The idea of a government shutdown is deeply unpopular, as most voters agree that it is “never right to shut down the federal government” – even if it’s for an important issue or cause that they believe in
- Voters are persuaded to oppose congressional Republicans’ position on spending cuts and a possible shutdown when they are told that a shutdown would delay payments for Social Security, Medicare, and veterans’ benefits while thousands of federal employees could lose their jobs or be furloughed
Quinnipiac – Majorities of Americans say that climate change is caused by humans and contributing to recent extreme weather events [Release, Report + Crosstabs]
Quinnipiac finds that two-thirds of Americans (67%) are at least “somewhat” concerned about climate change, including two in five (41%) who are “very” concerned about the issue.
The clear majority of Americans also recognize the human causes of climate change, with 59% agreeing that recent climate change is “primarily caused by human activity.”
And after another summer of record heat waves, deadly wildfires, and severe hurricanes, nearly three in five Americans (58%) say that the extreme weather events in the United States over the past few years are related to climate change.
Recent polling by USA Today and Ipsos found that more one in five Americans are concerned that they may have to move from where they live because of climate change. In a different question on this topic, Quinnipiac finds that 13% of Americans have already “given thought” to moving from their current location to avoid extreme weather events in the future.
[Youth] American University – Climate and the environment are top issues for young Americans in the 2024 elections [Article, Website, Full Report]
Polling in recent elections has shown that climate and the environment are key issues both for motivating and persuading young Americans, and this new report from American University’s Sine Institute of Policy & Politics indicates that this trend will continue next year.
In a survey of Americans aged 18-34, American University finds that the environment and climate change rank in the top tier of issues that young Americans are prioritizing in the 2024 election. There are seven issue categories, including the environment and climate change, that 20% or more of young Americans select among the top three “most important issues” for their votes next year:
- Health care – 25%
- The economy, including the cost of living – 24%
- Affordable housing – 24%
- Reproductive rights, including abortion – 23%
- Workforce issues, including job training and worker protections – 21%
- The environment and climate change – 21%
- Gun violence – 20%
The poll further illustrates how young Americans are concerned about the way that the country is handling environmental issues and want to see elected leaders put more focus on the environment.
The health of the environment is one of the few quality of life areas that most young Americans don’t believe will be better in their life than in their parents’ lives. While young Americans expect their lives to be as good or better than their parents’ generation in most ways – including having the freedom to choose their job and where to live – less than half expect things to be better on these four aspects:
- Good mental health (48% better than parents’ life / 22% worse than parents’ life)
- Ability to save for a comfortable retirement (45% better / 29% worse)
- Health of the environment, including clean air, water, and food (40% better / 30% worse)
- Having a functional government that represents all (32% better / 32% worse)
Ensuring that the U.S. is a safe place to live with a healthy environment is the single biggest priority that young Americans want their elected leaders to focus on. More young Americans say that this should be “one of the top priorities” for elected leaders than any other priority asked about in the poll:
- Do more to make sure the U.S. is a safe place to live with a healthy environment – 42% one of the top priorities
- Make higher education more affordable for more people – 37%
- Improve access to quality education for all – 33%
- Provide more government assistance in areas like health care and job training for people who need it – 31%
- Increase incentives for people to be more self-reliant and reward hard work – 29%
- Set an example and be a role model for basic values with their own personal behavior – 27%
- Reduce the regulations and rules that restrict individual freedoms – 26%
- Improve the global standing of the United States – 24%
- Reduce the regulations and rules that restrict business and economic growth – 19%
- Regulate artificial intelligence and technology – 15%
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.