This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including new polling on Biden’s climate agenda, voters’ relative trust in the two parties to handle climate change and the environment, voters’ prioritization of climate change relative to other legislative issues in Washington, and a new report of American teens’ attitudes about climate change and the environment.

HEADLINES

• Navigator - Two in three voters support Biden’s economic plan after learning it will invest in clean energy; voters have mixed opinions about whether climate change is more of a social/cultural issue or economic issue, and Republican voters are the least likely to view it as an economic problem (Release, Deck, Topline)
• Gallup - Majorities support a wide range of Biden-backed climate policies, with particularly high support for clean energy tax incentives and higher fuel efficiency standards (Release)
• POLITICO + Morning Consult - Climate change and the environment remain the Democratic Party’s two biggest issue advantages over the Republican Party in voters’ minds; for Democrats and young voters, climate change is the top legislative priority after economic recovery (Topline, Crosstabs)
• National 4-H Council & The Harris Poll - Teen Environmental Impact Survey shows that the environment is a top-of-mind priority for Americans aged 13-19, as overwhelming majorities expect climate change and other environmental issues to impact their lives and shape their life decisions (Release, Report)

GOOD DATA POINTS TO HIGHLIGHT

• 89% of Americans support providing tax credits to Americans who install clean energy systems, like solar power, in their homes [Gallup]
• 75% of Americans support providing tax incentives to businesses to promote their use of wind, solar and nuclear power [Gallup]
• 71% of Americans support setting higher fuel efficiency standards for cars, trucks and buses [Gallup]
• 62% of Americans support establishing strict limits on the release of methane in the production of natural gas [Gallup]
• 61% of Americans support providing tax credits to individuals who purchase electric vehicles [Gallup]
• 59% of Americans support spending federal money to increase the number of electric vehicle charging stations in the U.S. [Gallup]
• Voters support the economic plan put forward by President Biden and Democrats in Congress by a 68%-23% margin after reading a short description of it, including the fact that it will “invest in clean energy like wind and solar power” [Navigator]
• More Americans say that climate change and the environment is the single most important issue to them than any other issue aside from the economy and health care [Economist + YouGov]

FULL ROUNDUP

Navigator

Two in three voters support Biden’s economic plan after learning it will invest in clean energy; voters have mixed opinions about whether climate change is more of a social/cultural issue or economic issue, and Republican voters are the least likely to view it as an economic problem (Release, Deck, Topline)

Since talks over Build Back Better stalled in February, Navigator have been tracking attitudes about a modified economic investment package with the following clean energy-heavy description: 

As you may know, Biden and Democrats' new economic plan will expand Medicare for seniors to include hearing coverage, lower health care costs by allowing Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices, and invest in clean energy like wind and solar power. Knowing this, do you support or oppose this new economic plan? 

Their latest poll finds that voters support the proposal by a nearly three-to-one margin (68% support / 23% oppose). In four recent surveys in which they’ve asked about the plan using this description since mid-February, Navigator have found support to hover consistently between 66%-68% with opposition always at 23%-24%. Just as support for the old Build Back Better package remained high and remarkably consistent throughout last year, this newer polling on a revised version of the bill shows that the substance of the legislation - including investment in clean energy - maintains high and stable support from the electorate.

The latest Navigator poll also includes an interesting finding about how voters contextualize the issue of climate change. The poll asked whether respondents consider a variety of issues to be “more of a social and cultural issue” or “more of an economic issue.” On several issues, there’s a clear consensus: 86% say that inflation is more of an economic issue, for example, and 81% say that race relations are more of a social and cultural issue.

Voters have more mixed opinions about how to classify climate change, with 41% believing it is more of a social and cultural issue and 31% saying it is more of an economic issue. Both Democratic voters (41% social or cultural issue / 37% economic issue) and independent voters (32% social or cultural issue / 34% economic issue) split roughly evenly in how they label climate change, while Republican voters (44% social or cultural issue / 23% economic issue) are much more likely to see climate change as a social/cultural issue than an economic one. These findings underscore the importance of messaging about the economic benefits of clean energy and climate action to conservative audiences, as skepticism about the economic case for climate action remains one of the main factors suppressing Republican voters’ support for climate policies. 

Pew, for example, recently found that a rising majority of self-identified Republicans say that policies aimed at reducing the effects of climate change hurt the U.S. economy rather than help it.

Gallup

Majorities support a wide range of Biden-backed climate policies, with particularly high support for clean energy tax incentives and higher fuel efficiency standards (Release)

This new poll release from Gallup includes questions about several climate policies that have been put forth by the Biden administration, including many of the climate policies that have been considered for a revised Build Back Better-style package.

Gallup finds majority support for all of these Biden climate policies and, consistent with past polling, support is particularly high for clean energy tax incentives. Here’s the list that Gallup asked about in full:

• Providing tax credits to Americans who install clean energy systems, like solar power, in their homes (89% favor / 11% oppose)
• Providing tax incentives to businesses to promote their use of wind, solar and nuclear power (75% favor / 24% oppose)
• Setting higher fuel efficiency standards for cars, trucks and buses (71% favor / 28% oppose)
• Establishing strict limits on the release of methane in the production of natural gas (62% support / 35% oppose)
• Providing tax credits to individuals who purchase electric vehicles (61% favor / 38% oppose)
• Spending federal money to increase the number of electric vehicle charging stations in the U.S. (59% favor / 40% oppose)

There are wide partisan gaps in support for each of these policies, but it’s notable that several of Biden’s key climate proposals - including tax credits for Americans who install clean energy systems like solar (78% support among Republicans), tax incentives for businesses to promote their use of wind, solar and nuclear power (62% Republican support), and higher fuel efficiency standards for vehicles (56% Republican support) - enjoy majority support from self-identified Republicans.

POLITICO + Morning Consult

Climate change and the environment remain the Democratic Party’s two biggest issue advantages over the Republican Party in voters’ minds; for Democrats and young voters, climate change is the top legislative priority after economic recovery (Topline, Crosstabs)

As midterm campaigns gear up, POLITICO and Morning Consult have released a new installment in their regular tracking of voters’ relative trust in the two parties to handle major issues facing the country. As has consistently been the case throughout the midterm election cycle, climate change and the environment remain the two issues on which voters are most likely to trust Democrats in Congress over Republicans in Congress. 

Here’s the list of issues that the poll asked about in full, along with the margins by which voters trust one party in Congress over the other to handle each:

• Climate change - Democrats +19
• The environment - Democrats +18
• Coronavirus - Democrats +7
• Health care - Democrats +7
• Protecting Medicare and Social Security - Democrats +5
• Voting rights - Democrats +4
• Education - Democrats +3
• Energy - Republicans +2
• Gun policy - Republicans +9
• Immigration - Republicans +11
• Jobs - Republicans +11
• The economy - Republicans +14
• National security - Republicans +16
• Inflation - Republicans +18

The poll also asked how high of a priority various issues should be for Congress, and found that 36% of voters rate passing a climate bill as a “top” priority. Among the electorate overall, this puts climate legislation in the upper half of priorities that were asked about in the poll. Here’s the list in full, ranked by the % who believe that each should be “a top priority” for Congress:

• Stimulating the economy to recover from the coronavirus pandemic - 52%
• Reducing the federal budget deficit - 45%
• Passing a healthcare reform bill - 41%
• Passing an immigration reform bill - 37%
• Passing a bill to address climate change and its effects - 36%
• Passing an infrastructure spending bill - 33%
• Investigating Hunter Biden’s overseas business dealings - 28%
• Passing a bill to reduce inequality - 28%
• Passing legislation placing additional restrictions on gun ownership - 28%
• Passing a bill to provide relief to Americans with student loan debt - 23%
• Eliminating the legislative filibuster in the senate - 19%
• Passing a bill to legalize marijuana - 19%
• Regulating tech companies - 17%

The list looks much different when broken down by party, however. Among base Democratic voters, the poll finds that climate change is a legislative priority of nearly unparalleled concern. The majority of Democratic voters (56%) say that passing a bill to address climate change and its effects should be “a top priority” for Congress, making climate the second-highest legislative priority for Democratic voters after stimulating the economy to recover from the coronavirus pandemic (60%).

Climate change also ranks at the very top tier of priorities for the critical activation audience of young voters aged 18-34: 41% of young voters call a climate bill “a top priority,” more than any other issue asked about in the poll aside from post-pandemic economic recovery (46%).

National 4-H Council & The Harris Poll

Teen Environmental Impact Survey shows that the environment is a top-of-mind priority for Americans aged 13-19, as overwhelming majorities expect climate change and other environmental issues to impact their lives and shape their life decisions (Release, Report)

Polls consistently show that Gen Z Americans (those born after 1996) are more attuned to the issue of climate change than any other age cohort in the electorate. This new poll of Americans aged 13-19 finds that the audience of younger Gen Z Americans, most of whom haven’t aged into the electorate yet, are also deeply concerned about climate and committed to activism around the issue. The poll shows that the vast majority of young Americans aged 13-19 view climate change and other environmental problems as personally impactful issues, with teenage Americans widely believing that climate and environmental issues are going to shape their lives in significant ways. 

Nearly nine in ten (89%) say they think about the environment on a regular basis, including 41% who think about it “frequently.” Additionally, more than four in five agree with each of the following statements:

• “Climate change will impact everyone in my generation through global political instability.” (84% agree)
• “If we don’t address climate change today, it will be too late for future generations, making some parts of the planet unlivable.” (84% agree)
• “If we don’t do more to protect the environment today, I expect to make future life decisions based on the state of the environment, including where I live, what kinds of jobs will be available, or if I will have children.” (82% agree)

Fortunately, young Americans’ deep concerns about climate change generally reflect a high degree of climate realism while avoiding the traps of climate fatalism. Large majorities believe that they can personally help to address the crisis and want to be part of the solution, with over three-quarters agreeing with each of the following statements:

• “I would like to be involved in shaping the future of our environment.” (84% agree)
• “I feel responsible to protect the future of our planet.” (77% agree)
• “I feel empowered to make a difference in the future of our climate.” (77% agree)