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.

Solar continues to be voters’ favorite source of energy, with most saying that it’s good for the economy and costs. Pro-solar arguments consistently win in head-to-head messaging tests against common criticisms about reliability, land use, and supply chains. 84% of voters support the construction of a utility-scale solar farm near their own community. 75% of voters agree that solar power is good for America’s economy. 74% of voters agree that increasing our use of solar power would save American families money. 74% of voters agree that their electric utility should get more of its electricity from solar power. 66% of voters agree that solar power creates good-paying jobs.

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including lots of new polling on climate and the environment as issues in this year’s election, new polling of Latino voters, new polling about conservation in the states that touch the Mississippi River, and new polling about clean energy infrastructure siting in California.

One challenge that climate policy folks are working on is developing the supply chain to make batteries in the U.S. There has been an epic battle over the past 20 years between two types of lithium-ion batteries: nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) and lithium iron phosphate (LFP). While NMC still boasts better energy density, LFP is making a major comeback thanks to its safer, more accessible materials and improving performance. However, China still dominates the LFP supply chain. In this episode, CEO Vivas Kumar of startup Mitra Chem weighs in on why America needs domestic production of LFP materials.

Seven in ten voters support the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) when they see a basic explanation of it. Voters support the IRA by an overwhelming 71%-20% margin when provided with the following description: “The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 invests over $430 billion in clean energy and Affordable Care Act healthcare premiums. It also allows Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices and pays down the national debt by $300 billion.” Data for Progress also finds that the IRA continues to hold a significant amount of cross-party appeal, with nearly nine in ten Democrats (89%), more than two-thirds of independents (72%), and half of Republicans (52%) saying that they support the law based on the description that the poll provided. Advocates have a strong case that workers and lower/middle class families stand to benefit most from the law. Majorities of voters believe that workers or jobseekers (64%) and middle and lower class Americans (62%) will benefit from the IRA after learning about the law’s major climate and health care provisions.

Nearly two-thirds of Latino voters prefer a president who prioritizes climate action over one who prioritizes oil and gas. Latino voters widely agree that extreme weather is becoming worse because of climate change and increasing their utility bills. 83% of Latino voters are concerned about air and water pollution, including 49% who are “very concerned” about it. 78% of Latino voters are concerned about climate change, including 46% who are “very concerned” about it. 65% of Latino voters agree that “we need a president who is committed to addressing climate change and extreme weather and who will make it a key priority of their policy agenda”. 67% of Latino voters agree that extreme weather events are increasing in frequency, and 72% attribute them to climate change.

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including new national and swing state polling on the IRA’s tax credits and offshore drilling + new research on the terminology of climate change + new polling in Pennsylvania, Georgia, and South Carolina.

Overwhelming majorities nationally and in key swing states support maintaining tax credits for EVs, clean energy, and energy efficiency while limiting offshore drilling. 88% of Americans support maintaining or increasing the tax credit for residential clean energy production. 89% of Americans support maintaining or increasing the tax credit for new energy-efficient heating or air conditioning systems. 86% of Americans support maintaining or increasing the tax credit for energy-saving improvements, such as fuel-efficient lighting, doors, windows, or insulation. 70% of Americans support the EPA’s standards requiring new cars and light trucks to get 20-30% more miles per gallon by 2027. 80% of Americans support maintaining or increasing the tax credit for used EVs, and 79% support maintaining or increasing the tax credit for new EVs. 76% of Americans say that the government should either maintain or decrease the current amount of offshore drilling, while only 23% want to increase it.

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including new polling on climate and clean energy issues in the presidential race, extreme weather, nuclear energy, and PFAS.

Pennsylvania voters widely support expanding clean energy in the state, as most believe that it will bring benefits for people’s health and future generations. 78% of Pennsylvania voters support the state “significantly” increasing its use of clean energy sources like wind and solar to generate electricity, with around half (48%) strongly in favor of this proposal. Support for clean energy expansion also extends across party lines in the state, with 93% of Democrats, 84% of independents, and 59% of Republicans all in favor. Additionally, Pennsylvanians are far more likely to anticipate positive than negative impacts from clean energy expansion on the economy (49% positive / 23% negative), the reliability of electricity (47% positive / 21% negative), and the affordability of electricity (46% positive / 25% negative).