This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including new polling on climate change as an issue in the presidential election, new polling on the Inflation Reduction Act, and new polling on EPA standards for particle pollution and vehicle emissions.

HEADLINES

Climate Power

Battleground voters shift decisively toward President Biden when his climate and clean energy record is contrasted with Trump’s [Deck]

Data for Progress

Climate and the environment rank among President Biden’s largest issue advantages over Trump [Release, Crosstabs]

Navigator

Voters continue to support the Inflation Reduction Act by a wide margin after learning about it [Release, Deck] 

American Lung Association

Voters overwhelmingly support stronger EPA standards for particle pollution and heavy-duty vehicle emissions [Particle Pollution Release, Particle Pollution Memo, Vehicle Release, Vehicle Memo]

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Climate change is one of President Biden’s biggest advantages over Trump, but it isn’t baked in. Data for Progress finds that voters trust President Biden by a wider margin over Trump on climate change and the environment than on nearly any other issue. Battleground polling by Climate Power, meanwhile, shows that voters don’t fully appreciate the gulf between the two candidates’ approaches to environmental issues. They find that messaging that contrasts the two candidates on climate change and clean energy produces sizable shifts toward Biden in the race for president - particularly among younger voters, independent voters, and those who either didn’t vote or voted for third-party candidates in 2020.
Arguments focused on public health can effectively counter opposition messaging about new EPA pollution standards. As the EPA’s new soot standards come under attack from industry groups and the politicians that do their bidding, the American Lung Association finds that a focus on the health benefits of the new standards can effectively rebut opposition fear mongering about costs and jobs. In a head-to-head test, voters are much more likely to side with a positive argument about the health benefits of the new standards - including preventing thousands of premature deaths and over one million asthma attacks per year - than an opposition argument claiming that the standards will drive up costs and kill jobs.

GOOD DATA POINTS TO HIGHLIGHT

[Climate Change] 76% of voters support protecting the environment and addressing climate change, including 47% who “strongly” support it [Data for Progress]
[Clean Energy] 75% of voters support investing in clean energy technologies, including 43% who “strongly” support it [Data for Progress]
[Inflation Reduction Act] Voters support the Inflation Reduction Act by a nearly three-to-one margin (68% support / 24% oppose) after reading a brief, one-sentence description of it [Navigator]
[Particle Pollution/Soot] 78% of voters support the EPA setting stricter limits on fine particles, also called “soot,” that power plants, oil refineries, and other industrial facilities can release [American Lung Association]
[EPA Pollution Standards] 82% of voters support the EPA setting stricter limits on mercury and other toxic air emissions from power plants [American Lung Association]
[EPA Pollution Standards] 78% of voters support the EPA setting stricter limits on smog from power plants, oil refineries, and other industrial facilities [American Lung Association]
[EPA Pollution Standards] 76% of voters support the EPA setting stricter limits on carbon emissions from new and existing power plants [American Lung Association]

[Vehicle Emissions] 72% of voters support the EPA setting stricter limits on carbon emissions from heavy-duty vehicles such as tractor trailers, buses, and delivery vans [American Lung Association]
[Vehicle Emissions] 60% of voters support the EPA setting stricter limits on emissions from light-duty vehicles like cars and trucks [American Lung Association]