This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including new polling on polluter accountability and new polls of Black voters and young Americans.

Voters across party lines support the recently introduced Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act. Voters support the Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act by a 66%-24% margin after reading a brief description of it. The bill is supported by more than four in five Democrats (84%), three in five independents (62%), and half of Republicans (50%).

Most young Americans care about addressing climate change in their own lives and careers. While few have heard about the American Climate Corps, a large majority are interested in it after learning about it. Four in five Americans aged 18-26 (81%) agree that climate change poses a serious threat to our future – including large majorities of young liberals (92%), young moderates (81%), and young conservatives (67%). Around two-thirds of young Americans (67%) agree that they “want to take more personal actions to address climate change,” and most are attracted to the idea of having a job that allows them to contribute to the cause. Only around one-quarter of young Americans (27%) say that they’ve heard of the American Climate Corps, including just 4% who say that they’ve heard “a lot” about it. After reading about it, around seven in ten (69%) say that they’re interested in serving in the American Climate Corps – including 22% who are “very interested” in the program.

Water pollution is a common concern for Gen Z Americans, and around one-third worry that they will lack clean water and will need to move because of climate change. Majorities of Gen Zers say that they worry “some” or “a great deal” about each of the following: pollution of lakes, rivers and oceans – 72%, including 60% of voting-age Republicans; the health of fish and oceans – 66%, including 59% of voting-age Republicans; the availability of clean drinking water – 57%, including 39% of voting-age Republicans. Additionally, nearly three-quarters of Gen Z Americans (74%) – including 88% of voting-age Democrats and 65% of voting-age Republicans – agree that it’s “very important” to protect oceans, lakes, and rivers from pollution. Around one-third (31%) believe that their generation will “definitely” or “probably” not have enough clean water in the future to live, and 36% are at least “somewhat” concerned that they will have to move from their current town or city because of climate change.

Reframe corporate climate messaging around materiality, not morality. There is strong support for companies reducing carbon pollution, investing in clean energy, and communicating about their efforts to do so. The key to appealing to the broadest set of stakeholders is to frame climate action around materiality– not morality. In other words, businesses invest in climate-related efforts not just because they’re good, but because they’re good for business. Investors and consumers alike believe clean energy technology will shape the future of the economy. The best way for businesses to broaden support without antagonizing skeptics is to frame corporate action through the financial materiality of climate-related risks and opportunities.

Americans are growing less convinced that electric vehicles are supposed to be better for the planet than gas cars. The share of car-buying Americans who believe that has gone down by 5 percentage points in the last two years, from 63% to 58%. People who say they are interested in buying an EV, known in the auto industry as "EV considerers," remain solidly convinced that EVs have an environmental benefit. EV sales growth in the U.S. has slowed — in fact, the automotive data giant J.D. Power predicts that EVs as a share of new-car sales just peaked for the year at 9.2%.

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including new national polling on climate change as an issue priority for voters and new polling in Michigan about the state’s energy policies.

Michigan voters have much more positive attitudes toward the clean energy industry than the fossil fuel industry, and want the state to hold oil and gas companies more accountable for their pollution. Around four in five voters in the state have favorable attitudes about solar (81% favorable / 14% unfavorable) and wind (79% favorable / 17% unfavorable) as energy sources. Republicans in the state also have overwhelmingly positive attitudes about both energy sources, with around seven in ten Republicans saying that they feel favorably about solar (73% favorable / 21% unfavorable) and wind (70% favorable / 25% unfavorable). Around three-quarters of voters feel favorably about clean energy companies (73% favorable / 20% unfavorable), including three in five Republicans (61% favorable / 31% unfavorable). Meanwhile, only half of voters in the state have favorable attitudes about fossil fuel companies (50% favorable / 38% unfavorable). Most voters in the state (58%) say that oil and gas companies have a negative impact on air quality for Michigan communities, and around half also say that these fossil fuel companies are negatively impacting water quality (51%) and public health (48%) in Michigan.

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including polling on support for the Inflation Reduction Act, plastic pollution regulation, solar energy policies, and concern about climate impacts.

Providing a better life for future generations is consistently voters’ top rationale for addressing global warming. Preventing extreme weather has also become a more salient reason in recent years. Nearly half of voters (47%) say that providing “a better life for our children and grandchildren” is one of the most important reasons to reduce global warming, more than any other rationale tested in their polling. In Yale and GMU’s polls going back to 2017, providing a better life for future generations has consistently ranked as the top rationale for action among voters overall, among Democrats, and among Republicans. Extreme weather is rising as a rationale for climate action after several historic years of extreme heat and weather disasters. Yale and GMU find that “preventing extreme weather events” (37%) is now tied with “preventing the destruction of most life on the planet” (37%) as the next-most compelling rationale for climate action after “providing a better life for future generations.” Helping to prevent extreme weather has risen in salience over the past several years. Voters are nine points more likely to rate it among the top rationales for climate action now (37%) than they were in 2017 (28%), and it has increased as a rationale among both Democrats and Republicans over that period.