This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including new polling on federal funding cuts, the Trump administration’s early actions on energy and the environment, and Americans’ concerns about climate change and extreme weather.

Headlines

Navigator – Most voters are concerned about the extent of recent government funding cuts and layoffs, and there are a wide variety of salient examples to point to–including cuts to disaster relief [Release, Report, Topline]

ecoAmerica – Trump’s early actions on climate change and clean energy are unpopular; Americans particularly disapprove of halting wind energy projects, as they believe that stopping clean energy projects will hurt job growth [Release, Full Report, Crosstabs]

AP-NORC – Majorities of Americans continue to say that they’ve been impacted by extreme weather and that climate change was a factor behind it, and most are concerned that climate change will increase property insurance premiums [Article, Release, Topline]

Key Takeaways

Cuts to disaster relief help to underscore the dangerousness of DOGE’s approach. In testing voters’ reactions to many of the recent funding cuts by the Trump administration, Navigator finds that cuts to disaster relief rank among the most concerning. Previous research by Data for Progress last year found that voters would much rather increase federal support for disaster relief than decrease it, with virtually no voters of any political persuasion believing that disaster relief should be cut.

This strong concern over disaster relief cuts is also consistent with new polling conducted by the EPC and Combined Defense, which will be included in the briefing on Tuesday, March 11.

We should be including rising property insurance rates more in our messaging about costs. As climate change increasingly threatens Americans’ abilities to protect and insure their homes, from the widespread home losses from recent hurricanes and wildfires to the ongoing insurance market crisis in Florida and other disaster-prone areas, rising property insurance premiums are emerging as a salient example of the economic costs of climate change.

AP-NORC finds that nearly three in five Americans are “extremely” or “very” concerned that climate change will increase property insurance premiums for households. As we continue to develop and test messaging about the costs of climate inaction, this data indicates that rising insurance costs can help to personalize the issue. 

Good Data Points to Highlight

• [DOGE/Cuts] 67% of voters are concerned about the Trump administration cutting disaster relief for events like wildfires, hurricanes, and tornadoes, including 44% who are “very concerned” about these cuts [Navigator]
• [Clean Energy] 57% of Americans oppose the Trump administration’s action to halt new wind energy projects [ecoAmerica]
• [Clean Energy] 57% of Americans agree that the Trump administration will hurt job growth by stopping clean energy projects [ecoAmerica]
• [Drilling] 61% of Americans agree that the Trump administration’s plan to increase oil and gas drilling will harm air and water quality [ecoAmerica]
• [Drilling] 60% of Americans agree that the Trump administration’s plan to increase oil and gas drilling will increase pollution and harm people’s health [ecoAmerica]
• [Climate Change] 72% of Americans recognize that climate change is happening [AP-NORC]
• [Climate Change + Extreme Weather] 72% of Americans who self-report experience with extreme weather in recent years say that climate change was a cause [AP-NORC]