This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including new polling on the clean energy transition, the personal impacts of climate change, climate change as an issue in the presidential race, and methane pollution + a new analysis of the ways that Americans’ climate attitudes change over time.

See this webpage for links to the following resources.

HEADLINES

Pew – Americans continue to widely support renewables over fossil fuels, despite growing partisan divides [Website, Full Report, Topline]

The Economist + YouGov – Most Americans now say that they’ve felt the effects of climate change [Topline + Crosstabs]

Heatmap – Most Americans say that they’re more likely to support a candidate for president whose platform includes climate-friendly policies, as Americans overwhelmingly support policies to expand clean energy, increase energy efficiency, and tax polluters [Article]

Climate Nexus – Voters recognize methane as a pollutant and support policies to address methane pollution, but most don’t associate it with the oil and gas industry [Release, Topline]

Yale + GMU – Longitudinal data indicates that many Americans are changing their attitudes about global warming over time, and shifts are mostly in the direction of greater concern about the problem [Article]

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Solar and wind remain Americans’ favorite energy sources. Pew finds that large majorities of Americans support expanding solar (78%) and wind power (72%), despite recent dips in support as attitudes about these energy sources have become more politically polarized. Meanwhile, nuclear is the only other energy source in Pew’s survey that earns outright majority support and half or fewer support expanding fossil fuels through offshore drilling for oil and gas, fracking for oil and gas, or coal mining.
Pro-climate policies have clear political upside. Heatmap finds that most Americans say that they’re more likely to vote for a candidate for president whose platform includes subsidies for climate-friendly purchases such as EVs, heat pumps, and home solar panels. Other climate and clean energy policies that have been championed by President Biden – including expanding solar and wind energy and incentivizing energy efficiency for homes and businesses – also earn overwhelming majority support in their survey.
 

GOOD DATA POINTS TO HIGHLIGHT

• [Clean Energy Transition] By a 64%-35% margin, Americans say that the country should prioritize expanding wind, solar, and hydrogen production over expanding exploration and production of oil, coal and natural gas [Pew]
   
• [Clean Energy Transition] 78% of Americans support building more solar panel farms in the U.S. [Pew]
   
• [Clean Energy Transition] 72% of Americans support building more wind turbine farms in the U.S. [Pew]
   
• [Climate Change] 59% of Americans recognize that the world’s climate is changing as a result of human activity [The Economist + YouGov]
   
• [Climate Change] 53% of Americans say that they have personally felt the effects of climate change [The Economist + YouGov]
   
• [Climate Change + Elections] 60% of Americans are more likely to vote for a candidate for president who includes subsidies for ‘green purchases’, such as EVs, heat pumps, and home solar panels, in their climate change platform [Heatmap]