Environmental Polling Roundup – September 22, 2023
HEADLINES
Navigator – Voters don’t want a government shutdown, or proposed cuts to clean water and IRA implementation [Release, Report]
CBS News + YouGov – Nearly two-thirds of Americans acknowledge that President Biden has funded clean energy projects, making it one of the most widely recognized accomplishments of his presidency [Article, including embedded topline and crosstabs]
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Clean water is a powerful example of what’s at stake in the government shutdown fight. Navigator finds that cutting funding for clean and safe drinking water is one of the most unpopular budget cuts that has been put forward during the ongoing government funding debate. Other polling has shown that partisans on both sides consider clean water to be a core federal government responsibility, making clean water protections a salient and common-sense example of a government function that needs to be protected in budget negotiations.
- Americans recognize that President Biden is investing in clean energy. CBS News and YouGov find that funding clean energy projects is one of the most widely recognized actions that Biden has taken as president, on par with providing stimulus checks during the pandemic. While polls show that the American public is still hazy on what exactly Biden has done to combat climate change, the notion that his administration is backing clean energy is clearly breaking through. Now, advocates need to make it clearer to everyday Americans how these clean energy investments will help them at the personal level – including by lowering household energy bills.
GOOD DATA POINTS TO HIGHLIGHT
- [Government Shutdown + Clean Water] 75% of voters oppose proposed cuts to funding to provide safe and clean drinking water and to protect children from lead poisoning [Navigator]
- [Government Shutdown + IRA] 59% of voters oppose proposed cuts to government investments from the Inflation Reduction Act to combat the climate crisis [Navigator]
- [Energy] 58% of voters disagree that the U.S. should put more tax subsidies into traditional fossil fuels and take away benefits for investing in clean energy like wind and solar power [Navigator]
- [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
Navigator – Voters don’t want a government shutdown, or proposed cuts to clean water and IRA implementation [Release, Report]
Navigator has been tracking voters’ attitudes about a potential government shutdown, and has consistently found that both Democratic and Republican voters are opposed to the idea.
In their latest poll, Navigator again finds widespread concern about the impacts of a shutdown. More than three-quarters of voters (77%), including 84% of Democrats and 71% of Republicans, say that a federal government shutdown would hurt the economy.
At the same time, Navigator finds that voters reject the kinds of spending cuts that congressional Republicans have proposed in negotiations to keep the government funded. Voters are especially opposed to cutting funding for safe and clean drinking water, ranking this as one of the most unpopular budget cuts that have been put forward.
Of the 15 proposed budget cuts that Navigator asked about in the survey, the following five incur the most overwhelming opposition:
- Cuts to the Social Security Administration, which could double wait times for those applying for disability benefits (77% oppose)
- Cuts to nutrition assistance for children and vulnerable families, taking food out of the mouths of women and children (76%)
- Cuts to K-12 education, impacting 26 million students and forcing cuts of over 200,000 teachers, aides, and other school professionals (75%)
- Cuts to funding to provide safe and clean drinking water and to protect children from lead poisoning (75%)
- Cuts to investments in life-saving medical research for children, cancer patients, and maternal health (75%)
Opposition to cutting funding for clean drinking water spans the political spectrum, with 87% of Democrats, 74% of independents, and 62% of Republicans opposed.
Relatedly, research by Pew has found that Democrats and Republicans both view ensuring clean air and water to be a core function of the federal government.
The Navigator poll additionally finds that the majority of voters oppose cuts to IRA implementation. After learning that Republicans have proposed cutting “investments from the Inflation Reduction Act to combat the climate crisis like grants to rural businesses and other programs, hurting the environment and raising energy costs for working families,” 59% of voters oppose these cuts to the IRA.
CBS News + YouGov – Nearly two-thirds of Americans acknowledge that President Biden has funded clean energy projects, making it one of the most widely recognized accomplishments of his presidency [Article, including embedded topline and crosstabs]
In a new national poll, CBS News and YouGov presented respondents with several actions that the Biden administration has taken and asked respondents whether or not they believe President Biden has done each one.
Out of the actions that the poll asked about, funding clean energy ranks at the top of the list of accomplishments that Americans are most likely to give Biden credit for:
- Funded clean energy projects – 65% believe President Biden has done this
- Vaccine requirements for federal workers – 65%
- Stimulus payments during the pandemic – 65%
- Allowed Medicare to negotiate drug prices – 54%
- Infrastructure investment in roads and bridges – 50%
- Expanded gun background checks – 41%
While polls show that Americans are unfamiliar with many of the Biden administration’s specific climate-related accomplishments, this new polling indicates that the Biden administration’s investments in clean energy are breaking through to the public.
The next step for advocates who are touting these investments is to make it clearer to Americans how clean energy investments will positively impact them, particularly when it comes to their energy bills.
Related Resources
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