This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including fresh polling on the Inflation Reduction Act.
HEADLINES
- POLITICO + Morning Consult - Voters reject the notion that the Inflation Reduction Act “goes too far” in addressing climate change, with most seeing its climate and clean energy policies as either doing “the right amount” on climate change or not going “far enough” (Topline, Crosstabs)
- Economist + YouGov - Americans continue to support the Inflation Reduction Act when it’s described as a “$369 billion climate and energy bill,” and most also support its reductions in greenhouse gas emissions (Topline, Crosstabs)
- Fox News - Voters still don’t know much about the Inflation Reduction Act, and are divided on it when it’s described as a “domestic spending plan” (Topline, Crosstabs)
- [AZ] Data for Progress - Arizona voters widely back the Inflation Reduction Act and its clean energy provisions (Release, Topline)
GOOD DATA POINTS TO HIGHLIGHT
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[IRA] The majority of voters (53%) believe that the Inflation Reduction Act on the whole either does “the right amount” or “doesn’t go far enough” to address climate change, while just 30% believe it “goes too far” [POLITICO/Morning Consult]
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[IRA] The majority of voters (64%) believe that the Inflation Reduction Act’s provision to offer consumers tax credits for renewable energy items in their households either does “the right amount” or “doesn’t go far enough” to address climate change, while just 19% believe it “goes too far” [POLITICO/Morning Consult]
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[IRA] The majority of voters (57%) believe that the Inflation Reduction Act’s provision to incentivize clean energy manufacturing with $60 billion in incentives either does the “right amount” or “doesn’t go far enough” to address climate change, while just 26% believe it “goes too far” [POLITICO/Morning Consult]
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[IRA] The majority of voters (53%) believe that the Inflation Reduction Act’s provision to charge a fee to the oil and gas industry for excessive methane emissions does the “right amount” or “doesn’t go far enough” to address climate change, while just 28% believe it “goes too far” [POLITICO/Morning Consult]
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[IRA] The majority of voters (53%) believe that the Inflation Reduction Act’s provision to invest $369 billion in climate and energy programs over the next 10 years either does the “right amount” or “doesn’t go far enough” to address climate change, while just 30% believe it “goes too far” [POLITICO/Morning Consult]
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[IRA] The majority of voters (52%) believe that the Inflation Reduction Act’s provision to offer tax credits for electric vehicles either does the “right amount” or “doesn’t go far enough” to address climate change, while just 29% believe it “goes too far” [POLITICO/Morning Consult]
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[Issue Priority] More Americans say that climate change / the environment is the single “most important issue” to them than any other issue besides inflation / prices [Economist/YouGov]
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[Arizona] Arizona voters support the Inflation Reduction Act by a two-to-one margin (60% support / 30% oppose) after reading a brief description of its major provisions and projected impact on the national deficit [Data for Progress]
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[Arizona] 72% of Arizona voters support the Inflation Reduction Act’s provision to lower American energy bills by providing tax credits and other financial incentives for clean and efficient energy technologies [Data for Progress]
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[Arizona] 66% of Arizona voters support the Inflation Reduction Act’s provision to ramp up production of American-made clean energy technologies like electric vehicles and solar panels and strengthen our energy supply chains [Data for Progress]
KEY TAKEAWAYS
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Framing the Inflation Reduction Act around lowering everyday people's costs continues to be effective for garnering support. Data for Progress finds a two-to-one margin of support for the Inflation Reduction Act in Arizona when voters learn about some of the ways that it will lower everyday families’ costs while also reducing the deficit. By contrast, Fox News finds that voters nationwide are split on the plan when they’re told it’s a “domestic spending plan” but aren’t provided any details about its major provisions.
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Clean energy production and consumer clean energy tax credits are popular components of the Inflation Reduction Act to highlight. While they aren’t as broadly appealing as provisions related to deficit reduction or lowering prescription drug costs, polling by POLITICO/Morning Consult and Data for Progress this week affirms that the Inflation Reduction Act’s policies to ramp up clean energy production and provide consumers with clean energy tax credits are strong options for climate advocates to focus their persuasive communications on.
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Climate advocates should feel confident touting the Inflation Reduction Act’s climate benefits to general audiences. Polling by The Economist and YouGov finds a wide margin of support for the bill when it’s described as a “climate and energy bill,” and most Americans also support the plan’s projected reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
FULL ROUNDUP
POLITICO + Morning Consult
Voters reject the notion that the Inflation Reduction Act “goes too far” in addressing climate change, with most seeing its climate and clean energy policies as either doing “the right amount” on climate change or not going “far enough” (Topline, Crosstabs)
POLITICO and Morning Consult’s national tracking survey last week found that more voters support than oppose each of the Inflation Reduction Act’s major provisions, and their survey this week drills down on voters’ attitudes about the bill’s climate and energy provisions.
The new poll shows that few voters believe the Inflation Reduction Act goes too far in addressing climate change. After learning about its major climate-related policies, just over half of voters (52%) believe that the bill either does “the right amount” (30%) or “doesn’t go far enough” (23%) in addressing climate change, while 30% say that it “goes too far.”
Voters have similar reactions to the bill’s specific climate-related components, with only 30% or fewer saying that each climate-related provision “goes too far” in addressing climate change:
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64% believe that the bill’s provision to offer tax credits to consumers for certain renewable energy items in their households either does “the right amount” (48%) or “doesn’t go far enough” (16%) in addressing climate change, compared to 19% who say this “goes too far”
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57% believe that the bill’s provision of $60 billion in incentives for clean energy manufacturing in the U.S. either does “the right amount” (41%) or “doesn’t go far enough” (16%) in addressing climate change, compared to 26% who say this “goes too far”
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52% believe that the bill’s provision to offer electric vehicle tax credits to consumers either does “the right amount” (34%) or “doesn’t go far enough” (18%) in addressing climate change, compared to 29% who say this “goes too far
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53% believe that the bill’s provision to charge a fee to the oil and gas industry for excessive methane emissions either does “the right amount” (32%) or “doesn’t go far enough” (21%) in addressing climate change, compared to 28% who say this “goes too far”
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53% believe that the bill’s provision to invest $369 billion in climate and energy programs either does “the right amount” (37%) or “doesn’t go far enough” (16%) in addressing climate change, compared to 30% who say this “goes too far”
The particularly positive reaction to the consumer clean energy tax credit provision (described in the poll as offering “tax credits to consumers who put certain renewable energy items in their households, such as rooftop solar and electric water heaters”) reinforces that consumer clean energy tax credits are an especially compelling policy to highlight, as descriptions of the Inflation Reduction Act are more persuasive the more they lean into the ways that it will bring down costs for everyday families.
Economist + YouGov
Americans continue to support the Inflation Reduction Act when it’s described as a “$369 billion climate and energy bill,” and most also support its reductions in greenhouse gas emissions (Topline, Crosstabs)
The Economist and YouGov have now gauged support for the Inflation Reduction Act using the same description twice in the last two weeks, and their polling has shown that there is steady support for the Inflation Reduction Act when it is labeled as a “$369 billion climate and energy bill.”
Using the specific language pasted below, The Economist and YouGov found an 18-point margin of support for the legislation (50%-32%) last week and a 21-point margin of support this week (52%-31%).
“Do you support or oppose the $369 billion climate and energy bill, which includes cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, gives government the ability to negotiate lower drug prices, and requires a minimum 15% tax on large corporations?”
The consistently high margin of support for the bill when it’s described in this way indicates that, while there may be more broadly appealing ways to describe the Inflation Reduction Act (e.g., as a bill to bring down everyday people’s cost of living by lowering prescription drug costs and ramping up the production of clean energy), there’s no need for advocates to shy away from framing it as a climate bill.
In fact, this Economist/YouGov poll finds a 24-point margin of support (53%-29%) for cutting greenhouse gas emissions to 40% below 2005 levels by 2035, which is slightly higher than the 21-point margin of support they find for the Inflation Reduction Act on the whole (52%-31%).
Fox News
Voters still don’t know much about the Inflation Reduction Act, and are divided on it when it’s described as a “domestic spending plan” (Topline, Crosstabs)
Just 11% of voters in this new Fox News poll say they understand what is in the Inflation Reduction Act “very well,” indicating that it’s still safe to assume that most audiences haven’t formed any strong opinions about the Inflation Reduction Act. Accordingly, there’s a lot of opportunity for advocates to shape how the plan is received by the public in the coming weeks.
The majority of voters in the poll (53%) admit that they either don’t understand the plan at all (18%) or don’t understand it very well (35%), while about one-third (34%) say they understand it “somewhat” well.
After hearing it described as a “domestic spending plan” that “is currently being considered in Congress” but without any additional details on what is in it, voters are split evenly in their approval of the plan (44% approve / 44% disapprove).
Democratic voters are generally in favor of the bill (72% approve / 18% disapprove) while Republican voters generally disapprove of it (22% approve / 64% disapprove). This indicates that voters either know enough about the bill to associate it with Biden/Democrats or can infer that it’s a Democratic bill by the fact that Congress is considering it while Democrats hold power.
It’s worth noting that this is the first public poll we’ve seen where support for the plan doesn’t outweigh opposition. And it’s not surprising that the Inflation Reduction Act polls lower when voters are given less information about it, as its major provisions are consistently popular.
The fairly wide range in support we’ve seen for the bill depending on how it’s described also reinforces the fact that the public doesn’t have well-formed opinions about it yet, so the way that the bill is framed matters a great deal in shaping people’s initial reactions.
[AZ] Data for Progress
Arizona voters widely back the Inflation Reduction Act and its clean energy provisions (Report, Topline)
Like Data for Progress’s national poll on the Inflation Reduction Act last week, this poll of Arizona voters finds that there is overwhelming support for the Inflation Reduction Act when it’s framed around lowering costs for families.
Data for Progress finds that Arizonans support the bill by a two-to-one margin (60% support / 30% oppose) after reading the following description:
“Some lawmakers in Congress have proposed the Inflation Reduction Act to lower costs for families. This bill will ramp up clean energy production, like solar and wind power, which will reduce energy costs and our dependence on foreign oil. It will also lower prescription drug costs and health insurance premiums for millions of Americans.
It will be fully paid for by closing tax loopholes for corporations and the wealthiest Americans. It will reduce the national deficit by at least $300 billion.”
Consistent with the national polling we’ve seen on the bill, the poll also finds that, while the components of the bill that lower prescription drug costs and reduce the deficit stand out as the plan’s most widely supported elements, provisions related to consumer clean energy tax credits and clean energy production are also widely popular.
Here are the specific provisions that Data for Progress tested in the Arizona poll, ranked by the percentage of Arizona voters who support each one:
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Lowering prescription drug prices (89% support / 7% oppose)
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Reducing the national deficit by at least $300 billion (81% support / 9% oppose)
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Closing tax loopholes to ensure the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share in taxes (79% support / 15% oppose)
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Keeping healthcare costs stable for millions of Americans covered by the Affordable Care Act (76% support / 16% oppose)
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Lowering American energy bills by providing tax credits and other financial incentives for clean and efficient energy technologies (72% support / 22% oppose)
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Ramping up production of American-made clean energy technologies like electric vehicles and solar panels and strengthening our energy supply chains (66% support / 28% oppose)
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Raising the minimum tax rates on large corporations to 15% (65% support / 28% oppose)
The Environmental Polling Consortium (EPC) is a collaborative hub for the environmental community to share and discover public opinion research.
If you’d like to learn more about the EPC or are interested in becoming a member with access to non-public polling, contact EPC Partnerships Manager Leah Zamesnik at lzamesnik@partnershipproject.org