This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including new polling on the obstacles to climate action and proposed solutions; a battleground state poll about oil and gas companies’ role in spiking energy prices; new polling on the SITE Act and expansion of the U.S. electric grid; and a study analyzing the impact of messaging about the scientific consensus on climate change.
HEADLINES
- AP + NORC - The clear majority of Americans say that the country is doing too little to address climate change, and people assign the most blame to corporate America (Article, Topline)
- Climate Power + Data for Progress - Swing state voters overwhelmingly support policies to hold energy companies accountable for price spikes amid record oil and gas profits (Memo)
- Data for Progress - Voters want to see the U.S. electric grid expanded, and widely support the SITE Act after learning about it (Article, Topline)
- Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (YPCCC)- Communicating about the scientific consensus on climate change is effective at changing beliefs, including among those who are most dismissive about climate change (Article)
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Corporate accountability is a potent messaging frame amid record oil and gas prices. Polling by Climate Power and Data for Progress in political battleground states finds that voters blame oil and gas companies more than any other actors for high gas prices, and a proposal to pass new laws holding these companies more accountable for price spikes is overwhelmingly popular across the political spectrum. Additionally, a new poll by the AP and NORC finds a strong public appetite for reducing corporate emissions as Americans perceive U.S. businesses and energy providers as the biggest obstacles to progress on climate change.
- Expansions of the electric grid remain overwhelmingly popular across party lines. Polls consistently show that Americans broadly support investments to expand the electric grid and to make it stronger and more reliable. New polling by Data for Progress finds that voters specifically support the Streamlining Interstate Transmission of Electricity (SITE) Act when they learn about it, and also widely support expediting the federal permitting process for new energy transmission projects such as power lines.
- We shouldn’t automatically write off climate doubters in our communications. A new paper by academics including researchers at the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (YPCCC) finds that messaging about the scientific consensus on human-caused climate change is particularly effective at shifting attitudes among those who are doubtful or dismissive about climate change. It stands to reason that there’s more room to increase recognition of the problem with these audiences, because their baseline concerns are lower by definition, but the paper intriguingly suggests that these segments are more receptive to messaging on climate change and more willing to change their minds than advocates might assume.
GOOD DATA POINTS TO HIGHLIGHT
- [Battleground States + Corporate Accountability] 78% of battleground state voters support Congress passing new laws to “hold energy companies accountable” for spikes in gas and home heating and cooling prices that have led to record profits for those companies [Climate Power + Data for Progress]
- [Energy Efficiency] 69% of Americans support providing consumer rebates for more efficient home appliances [AP + NORC]
- [Residential Solar] 65% of Americans support providing tax credits for the installation of solar panels [AP + NORC]
- [Climate Change] Nearly three-quarters of Americans (74%) recognize that climate change is happening, while just 8% deny it [AP + NORC]
- [Climate Change] Nearly two-thirds of Americans (65%) recognize that climate change is caused mostly or entirely by human activities [AP + NORC]
- [Renewable Energy] 66% of Americans want to expand solar panel farms in the U.S. and 59% want to expand offshore wind farms [AP + NORC]
- [Climate Action] 64% of Americans support reducing the amount of greenhouse gases that companies are allowed to emit [AP + NORC]
- [Climate Action] 62% of Americans say the United States is doing “too little” to reduce climate change [AP + NORC]
- [Issue Priority] More Americans name climate change and the environment as the single “most important issue” to them than any other issue besides inflation/prices [Economist/YouGov]
FULL ROUNDUP
AP + NORC
The clear majority of Americans say that the country is doing too little to address climate change, and people assign the most blame to corporate America (Article, Topline)
The latest national tracking survey from the AP and UChicago’s NORC finds that Americans’ general beliefs about climate change are steady, as 74% acknowledge that climate change is happening (up slightly from 71% in a previous AP/NORC survey from June) and 65% believe that climate change is caused mostly or entirely by human activities (compared to 66% in June).
The survey also finds that more than three in five Americans (62%) agree that the United States is doing “too little” to address climate change, while only 19% say the country is doing “too much” and 18% believe the country is doing “about the right amount.”
Overwhelming majorities of self-identified Democrats (79%) and political independents (67%) say that the country is doing “too little” to address the problem, while Republicans are split (39% too little / 43% too much).
Americans believe that corporate actors are the primary obstacles to progress on climate change, including companies that are unwilling to reduce their energy use, energy providers that aren’t investing enough in renewable energy sources, and companies that are charging too much for energy-efficient products.
Here are the eight obstacles that the survey asked about, ranked by the percentage of Americans who say that each is a “major problem” for the country’s efforts to reduce climate change:
- Companies not being willing to reduce their energy use (62% major problem)
- Companies not doing enough to make energy saving products and services more affordable (57%)
- The energy industry not doing enough to supply energy from renewable sources (56%)
- The energy industry not investing enough in renewable energy sources like wind and solar (56%)
- The government not investing enough in renewable energy sources like wind and solar (52%)
- People not knowing how to reduce their energy use (49%)
- People not being willing to reduce their energy use (48%)
- People not being willing to pay more for energy from renewable sources (40%)
Given how much blame they assign to corporate actors, it logically follows that Americans believe that the most impactful climate solutions target companies rather than consumers.
The poll finds that majorities say it is “extremely” or “very” important for the federal government to both restrict companies’ greenhouse gas emissions (55%) and provide incentives for companies to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions (53%).
Meanwhile, just under half say it is “extremely” or “very” important to provide incentives for individuals to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions (47%) and only 35% say it is “extremely” or “very” important to restrict individuals’ greenhouse gas emissions (35%).
The survey also finds broad support for the expansion of renewable energy. Clear majorities of Americans want to expand solar panel farms (66%) and offshore wind farms (59%), while only 35% want to expand offshore drilling for oil and natural gas. The idea of auctioning off more public space for oil drilling is also unpopular (27% favor / 44% oppose).
In terms of specific policy proposals, every climate-friendly policy tested in the survey generates more support than opposition and the most popular solutions are a combination of stricter rules for corporate emissions and incentives for consumers to reduce their household emissions.
Here’s the full list of climate-friendly proposals tested in the survey, ranked by the percentage who favor each one:
- Providing consumer rebates for more efficient home appliances (69% favor / 10% oppose)
- Providing tax credits for the installation of solar panels (65% favor / 13% oppose)
- Reducing the amount of greenhouse gases that companies are allowed to emit (64% favor / 13% oppose)
- Providing tax credits for the purchase of electric vehicles (50% favor / 25% oppose)
- Funding projects to reduce inequality when it comes to who is impacted by climate change (44% favor / 22% oppose)
The survey also asked a few questions about the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), finding that most Americans (61%) have heard “little” or “nothing at all” about the IRA. And even when primed with a description that the IRA is a “recently passed climate, tax, and health care law,” only 33% believe it will help combat climate change while 49% believe it won’t make much difference.
These findings go to show that everyday Americans still know very little about the IRA, and significantly more education is required to convince the public that the bill will make a meaningful impact in combating climate change.
Climate Power + Data for Progress
Swing state voters overwhelmingly support policies to hold energy companies accountable for price spikes amid record oil and gas profits (Memo)
This new battleground poll of voters in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin finds that voters in battleground states blame oil and gas companies for high gas prices and want to see these companies held more accountable.
More battleground state voters say that oil and gas companies raising prices on consumers to maximize their profits is to blame for high gas prices (76%) than President Biden and Democrats in Congress (66%).
Accordingly, the poll finds overwhelming support for “new laws to protect consumers from spikes in gas and home heating and cooling prices” (82% support / 13% oppose). Support for this proposal is intense (50% “strongly” support) and cross-partisan, with 80% of independents and 75% of Republicans in favor of it.
The poll finds similarly high support for a proposal to pass new laws to “hold energy companies accountable for spikes in gas and home heating and cooling prices, which have led to record profits for these companies” (78% support / 17% oppose). Again, support for the idea is intense (49% “strongly” support) and spans party lines with 71% of independents and 73% of Republicans supporting it.
Pulling from the memo:
“Accountability for oil and gas companies is a potent message and critical to shifting blame on gas prices to their true sources. Conveniently, oil and gas companies begin releasing their Q3 earnings this week… Already in just the first half of 2022, oil and gas companies have made nearly $210 billion in record profits and this trend is expected to continue.”
Data for Progress
Voters want to see the U.S. electric grid expanded, and widely support the SITE Act after learning about it (Article, Topline)
Previous Data for Progress polling has found that voters overwhelmingly support the idea of expanding and strengthening the electric grid in order to increase its capacity to transmit clean energy.
This new poll reaffirms that investments to expand the electric grid are popular across party lines.
Nearly three-quarters of Americans (74%) say it’s at least “somewhat” urgent to develop new energy infrastructure projects to expand America’s power grid, including majorities of Democrats (86%), independents (75%), and Republicans (62%).
And after reading a short description of the Streamlining Interstate Transmission of Electricity (SITE) Act that says it would “reduce the the amount of time it takes to approve new energy transmission projects, such as power lines, that go across state lines,” voters support the proposed legislation by an overwhelming 71%-13% margin.
Support for the SITE Act following this description spans party lines, with 79% of Democrats, 70% of independents, and 65% of Republicans all in favor.
A proposal to expedite the permitting process for power lines is similarly popular, drawing support from 74% of voters overall - including 79% of Democrats, 75% of independents, and 69% of Republicans.
Voters are relatively more divided on a proposal to “give the federal government authority to step in and approve new interstate power lines when state or local actors don’t want to build interstate transmission lines,” but still support it by a 19-point margin (55% support / 36% oppose).
Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (YPCCC)
Communicating about the scientific consensus on climate change is effective at changing beliefs, including among those who are most dismissive about climate change (Article)
A newly released paper, summarized in the article linked here, builds on previous research that emphasized the importance of communicating the scientific consensus about human-caused climate change. Researchers have proposed that convincing people to accept the scientific consensus about human-caused climate-change serves as a “gateway” to changing people’s other beliefs about the issue, such as increasing their support for climate action.
In this new paper, researchers tested how messaging about the scientific consensus on climate change would impact the different segments of people identified in Yale and George Mason’s “Global Warming’s Six Americas” study - including higher-concern segments (“Alarmed” and “Concerned”), lower-concern segments (“Doubtful” and “Dismissive”), and segments more in the middle of the climate beliefs spectrum (“Cautious” and “Disengaged”).
Interestingly, the paper finds that communicating about the scientific consensus on climate change causes people with all ranges of climate attitudes to update their beliefs about climate change, including those who were initially “doubtful” or “dismissive” about the problem. In fact, messaging about the scientific consensus may be especially impactful among “doubtful” and “dismissive” audiences.
Pulling from the summary article, with emphasis added in bold:
“We use the Six Americas to investigate whether people across a wide range of climate beliefs and attitudes update their beliefs in response to the scientific consensus message.
Some scholars of motivated reasoning have argued that people are inherently motivated to accept or reject messages about climate change depending on their underlying ideological and political values. Others, however, argue that people will update their beliefs when given new information about an issue like climate change. To test this, we delivered a consensus message (i.e., “97% of climate scientists have concluded that human-caused global warming is happening”) to members of five of the six U.S. climate audiences (not enough people from the Disengaged audience participated in the study for us to analyze their data).
We found that all audiences – from Alarmed to Dismissive – updated their beliefs about the scientific consensus… This was especially true for members of the Doubtful and Dismissive audiences who, according to motivated reasoning theories, should be driven by their ideological and political beliefs to not update their climate beliefs. In other words, our findings support the hypothesis that ideological motivations do not inhibit people who are Doubtful or Dismissive about climate change from learning new information about it that runs counter to their initial beliefs.
Next, we examined the extent to which the effects of this message lasted over time. We contacted the same respondents an average of 26 days after they received the consensus message and found that, on average, 40% of the original treatment effect persisted.
We next looked at whether these messaging effects were more likely to fade among oppositional audiences (e.g., the Dismissive) than audiences that already have more pro-climate views (e.g., the Alarmed). We found the opposite pattern: message effects faded the least among the Dismissive and Doubtful audiences.”
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