Environmental Polling Roundup – September 6, 2024
HEADLINES
ecoAmerica – Most Americans say that they’ll vote for leaders who will prioritize climate change solutions [Report, Crosstabs]
Reuters/Ipsos – Climate change is one of VP Harris’s biggest issue strengths over Trump, including among Latino voters [Article, Topline]
[Latino Voters] Climate Power En Acción + Data for Progress – Nearly two-thirds of Latino voters prefer a president who prioritizes climate action over one who prioritizes oil and gas; Latino voters widely agree that extreme weather is becoming worse because of climate change and increasing their utility bills [Release, Crosstabs]
Hispanic Access Foundation – Voters in Mississippi River states see pollution of the river as a very serious problem; voters, and Latino voters in particular, overwhelmingly want elected officials to prioritize the protection of public lands and waters over fossil fuel development [Release, Deck, Topline, Latino Voter Topline]
[California] Data for Progress – Californians overwhelmingly support new clean energy infrastructure in their areas, and widely recognize that building new infrastructure is too difficult in the state [Memo, Crosstabs]
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Pro-climate stances continue to bring clear electoral advantages this year. ecoAmerica finds that Americans, by a two-to-one margin (59%-28%), say that they will vote for leaders who will prioritize climate change solutions. And Climate Power En Acción and Data for Progress find that nearly two-thirds of Latino voters (65%) say that we need a president who will make addressing climate change and extreme weather a key priority.
Latino voters are unified in their pro-climate and pro-environment views. While Latino voters are often touted as a critical swing audience, on the whole they are decidedly on one side of the debate over climate change and the environment. In addition to finding that Latino voters overwhelmingly want the president to prioritize climate action, Climate Power En Acción and Data for Progress find that large majorities of Latino voters are concerned about air and water pollution (83%) and blame climate change for the increased frequency of extreme weather (72%).
GOOD DATA POINTS TO HIGHLIGHT
- [Climate Change + Elections] 59% of Americans say that they will vote for leaders who will prioritize climate change solutions [ecoAmerica]
- [Clean Energy] 80% of Americans agree that “everyone has a right to clean energy that does not pollute the air or water” [ecoAmerica]
- [Climate Change] 78% of Americans agree that “we have a moral responsibility to create a safe and healthy climate for ourselves and our children” [ecoAmerica]
- [Climate Action] 64% of Americans agree that “investing in solutions to climate change will benefit American communities and make our country stronger” [ecoAmerica]
- [Latino Voters] 83% of Latino voters are concerned about air and water pollution, including 49% who are “very concerned” about it [Climate Power En Acción + Data for Progress]
- [Latino Voters] 78% of Latino voters are concerned about climate change, including 46% who are “very concerned” about it [Climate Power En Acción + Data for Progress]
- [Latino Voters] 65% of Latino voters agree that “we need a president who is committed to addressing climate change and extreme weather and who will make it a key priority of their policy agenda” [Climate Power En Acción + Data for Progress]
- [Latino Voters] 67% of Latino voters agree that extreme weather events are increasing in frequency, and 72% attribute them to climate change [Climate Power En Acción + Data for Progress]
- [Mississippi River] 55% of voters in the ten states that the Mississippi River runs through say that pollution of the river is a “very serious problem,” and 56% say it should be a “very high priority” for their state to take action to restore the Mississippi River [Hispanic Access Foundation]
- [California] 82% of Californians support building new clean infrastructure projects in their communities [Data for Progress]
FULL ROUNDUP
ecoAmerica – Most Americans say that they’ll vote for leaders who will prioritize climate change solutions [Report, Crosstabs]
Most Americans want to vote for candidates who will prioritize climate action. By a 59%-28% margin, Americans are more likely to agree than disagree that they will “vote for leaders who will prioritize climate change solutions.”
Two-thirds of Americans are concerned about climate change, despite polarization in an election year. Two-thirds of Americans (67%) now say that they are at least “somewhat” concerned about climate change, which is slightly down from the last time that ecoAmerica asked this question in 2023 (72%).
There is a large gap in concern between Democrats (88%) and Republicans (52%), and the drop in concern from last year is driven in large part by independents (60%, -11 from 2023) – specifically independents who lean Republican (47%, -13 from 2023).
Despite polarization, bipartisan majorities support climate action and clean energy. ecoAmerica finds a good amount of bipartisan agreement on several statements about climate change and the environment, including that:
- -Clean air and water are critical rights for all people (83% agree, including 90% of Democrats and 84% of Republicans)
- -Everyone has a right to clean energy that does not pollute the air or water (80% agree, including 88% of Democrats and 80% of Republicans)
- -We have a moral responsibility to create a safe and healthy climate for ourselves and our children (78% agree, including 88% of Democrats and 77% of Republicans)
- -The government needs to protect people from the impacts of extreme weather (68% agree, including 86% of Democrats and 58% of Republicans)
- -Investing in solutions to climate change will benefit American communities and make our country stronger (64% agree, including 84% of Democrats and 53% of Republicans)
Reuters/Ipsos – Climate change is one of VP Harris’s biggest issue strengths over Trump, including among Latino voters [Article, Topline]
Climate change is one of the issues that voters are most likely to prioritize after the economy and inflation. When asked to select the issues that are most important to them from a list of 14, climate change (23%) ranks among the top issues for voters after the economy and inflation:
- -The U.S. economy – 49%
- -Inflation – 40%
- -Immigration – 29%
- -Healthcare policy – 26%
- -Climate change – 23%
- -Political extremism or threats to democracy – 23%
- -Abortion – 22%
- -Fighting crime – 16%
- -Creating and protecting American jobs – 13%
- -Social order and safety – 11%
- -Domestic oil and gas production – 8%
- -Preventing global conflict – 8%
- -Israel – 5%
- -Ukraine – 3%
Among Democrats, climate change (42%) leads the very top tier of issues along with healthcare policy (38%), abortion (37%), political extremism or threats to democracy (37%), and the U.S. economy (35%).
Climate change is VP Harris’s clearest issue strength over Trump. When asked which candidate has a better plan, policy, or approach to the same list of issues, voters side more with Harris over Trump on climate change than on any other issue:
- -Climate change – Harris +20
- -Abortion – Harris +16
- -Healthcare policy – Harris +11
- -Political extremism or threats to democracy – Harris +8
- -Social order and safety – Even
- -Ukraine – Trump +1
- -Preventing global conflict – Trump +5
- -Fighting crime – Trump +6
- -Israel – Trump +9
- -Creating and protecting American jobs – Trump +9
- -The U.S. economy – Trump +9
- -Inflation – Trump +9
- -Immigration – Trump +10
- -Domestic oil and gas production – Trump +15
Harris’s edge on climate change is even wider among Latino voters. In their article on the poll, Reuters notes that Latino voters prefer Harris’s approach to climate change by a 23-point margin over Trump’s (46% Harris / 23% Trump).
[Latino Voters] Climate Power En Acción + Data for Progress – Nearly two-thirds of Latino voters prefer a president who prioritizes climate action over one who prioritizes oil and gas; Latino voters widely agree that extreme weather is becoming worse because of climate change and increasing their utility bills [Release, Crosstabs]
Pollution, climate change, and extreme weather are all highly salient issues for Latino voters. Large majorities of Latino voters say that they’re concerned about each of the following:
- -Air and water pollution (83%, including 49% who are “very concerned”)
- -Climate change (78%, including 46% who are “very concerned”)
- -Extreme weather, such as hurricanes and droughts (78%, including 45% who are “very concerned”)
Latino voters widely agree that extreme weather is becoming more common, and overwhelmingly blame climate change for it. Two-thirds of Latino voters (67%) acknowledge that extreme weather events such as heat waves, hurricanes, wildfires, and floods are increasing in frequency. This includes three-quarters of Latino Democrats (74%), two-thirds of Latino independents (66%), and also the majority of Latino Republicans (55%).
Most Latino voters (72%) – again including majorities of Democrats (84%), independents (61%), and Republicans (56%) – also say that these extreme weather events are happening because of climate change.
Latino voters say that extreme weather is impacting their cost of living. Latino voters perceive many ways that extreme weather is driving up their cost of living, which the poll finds is far and away their number one issue concern.
For example, large majorities of Latino voters say that extreme weather is impacting each of the following:
- -Your electricity bills (78%, including 49% who say that extreme weather is “greatly” impacting their bills)
- -Your home heating and cooling costs (77%, including 48% who say that extreme weather is “greatly” impacting their costs)
- -Your household bills (70%, including 36% who say that extreme weather is “greatly” impacting their bills)
Latino voters overwhelmingly prefer a pro-climate president over one who will expand fossil fuels. By a greater than two-to-one margin (65%-30%), Latino voters agree more that “we need a president who who is committed to addressing climate change and extreme weather and who will make it a key priority of their policy agenda” (65%) over a competing argument that “we need a president who is committed to expanding oil and gas production and who will push back against the climate alarmist policy agenda” (30%).
Harris has a clear edge with Latino voters on issues related to climate change and the environment, including lowering energy costs. When asked to choose which candidate they have more confidence in across a variety of issues, Latino voters show far more trust in Harris than Trump to handle each of the following:
- -Addressing the climate crisis – Harris +38
- -Investing in clean energy manufacturing – Harris +35
- -Cleaning up air and water pollution – Harris +33
- -Protecting communities against extreme weather events – Harris +30
- -Creating jobs in the clean energy industry – Harris +29
- -Lowering energy costs for American families – Harris +25
Trump’s ties to Big Oil and Project 2025 create serious concerns for Latino voters. Harris’s edge on climate and energy issues with Latino voters is also reflected in their concerns about Trump’s approach to climate and energy. Around half of Latino voters say that they’re “greatly concerned” in response to several negative messages about Trump’s environmental record, with the following three arguments standing out as particularly damaging with Latino audiences:
“Trump begged Big Oil to donate $1 billion to his election efforts. At the same time, Trump’s energy policies will offer them over $100 billion in tax handouts while giving them free rein to continue polluting our air and worsening extreme weather. Working families will pay the price with more expensive home insurance, higher electricity bills, home repair, and healthcare costs.”
“Big Oil companies emit tons of pollution each year, worsening climate change that leads to increasingly costly and deadly extreme weather. Yet, during his first term, Trump filled the Environmental Protection Agency with fossil fuel lobbyists, gave Big Oil CEOs a $25 billion tax break, and made it easier for them to pollute our air and water. A second Trump term means more of the same.”
“While our communities are worried about when the next heat wave, flood, or hurricane will strike, Trump’s Project 2025 agenda would stop the government from following scientific climate research, gut the government’s ability to protect our environment, and dismantle the National Weather Service, which alerts people ahead of dangerous extreme weather events.”
Hispanic Access Foundation – Voters in Mississippi River states see pollution of the river as a very serious problem; voters, and Latino voters in particular, overwhelmingly want elected officials to prioritize the protection of public lands and waters over fossil fuel development [Release, Deck, Topline, Latino Voter Topline]
Voters see Mississippi River pollution as a serious problem, and want their states to prioritize its restoration. The poll, which surveyed the ten states that the Mississippi River runs through (AR, IA, IL, KY, LA, MN, MO, MS, TN, and WI), finds that the majority of voters (55%) in these states call the pollution of the Mississippi River an “extremely” or “very” serious problem.
Accordingly, most voters in the ten states (56%) say that action to restore the Mississippi River should be an “extremely” or “very high” priority for their state.
Voters rank industrial waste, trash, PFAS, and microplastics as particularly big threats to the Mississippi River. Large majorities of voters in the ten states say that chemicals and waste from industry (72%), trash dumped in rivers and streams (71%), PFAS or “forever chemicals” (65%), and microplastics (63%) present major threats to the Mississippi River. Majorities also say that runoff from large agricultural operations (55%) and overdevelopment close to the river (55%) are major threats to the Mississippi.
Conservation proposals are overwhelmingly popular in Mississippi River states, particularly among Latino voters. By a two-to-one margin (60%-30%), voters in the ten states say that they want their member of Congress to prioritize “protecting water, air, wildlife, and recreation on public lands” (60%) over “producing more domestic energy by maximizing the public lands available for responsible oil and gas drilling and mining” (30%).
Latino voters in the region want their representatives to prioritize conservation over oil and gas extraction by an even wider margin (71%-22%).
Relatedly, around three-quarters of voters in the ten states (74%) – including nearly nine in ten Latino voters (87%) – support the 30×30 goal of conserving and restoring 30% of America’s lands, freshwaters, and ocean areas by the year 2030.
[California] Data for Progress – Californians overwhelmingly support new clean energy infrastructure in their areas, and widely recognize that building new infrastructure is too difficult in the state [Memo, Crosstabs]
Californians overwhelmingly support the state’s clean energy transition. More than two-thirds of Californians (68%) agree with an argument that the state should prioritize “investing in clean energy and new technologies right here in California, where we can create thousands of jobs and strengthen our economy,” over a competing argument that the state should prioritize “increasing existing oil and gas production to ensure we can keep the California power grid running with a steady
supply of energy” (23%).
Californians widely recognize that it’s too hard to build new infrastructure in the state. Three in five Californians (62%) say that it’s too hard to build new infrastructure projects like housing, transportation, or energy sources in the state, including majorities of Democrats (65%) and Republicans (66%).
Californians of all political affiliations support new clean infrastructure projects in their communities. Four in five Californians (82%) support new clean infrastructure projects such as new clean energy sources being built in their community, including clear majorities of Democrats (88%), independents (78%), and Republicans (75%).
These findings are consistent with polling at the national level, as support for local clean energy projects is consistently higher than the conventional wisdom might suggest.
Providing more clean energy and lowering energy bills are the biggest selling points of local clean energy infrastructure. When asked to choose up to three attributes that are most important for potential clean infrastructure projects in their community, Californians are most likely to say that they want projects that produce clean energy (51%), lower their bills in some way (38%), provide new jobs to their community (34%), and have minimal impacts on local ecosystems (32%).
Californians are split on the state’s planned phase-out of gas-powered vehicles, though most are interested in EVs. Most Californians (64%) say that they’re likely to purchase an electric vehicle if they’re in the market for a new vehicle within the next decade.
However, Californians are split on the state’s plan to end the sale of new gas-powered vehicles by 2035 (48% support / 44% oppose). While the plan is well-supported by Democrats (63% support / 31% oppose), it is deeply unpopular with Republicans (31% support / 68% oppose).
Related Resources
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