• A broad majority (69%) of New Yorkers support levying a tax on corporate polluters, where the revenue (estimated $15 billion raised per year) would be used to invest in new renewable energy projects, community sustainability initiatives, and fossil fuel workers impacted by the transition to clean energy.
• Support for specific investments is also high:
  • 65% support investing funds in large-scale renewable energy projects, like offshore wind farms and mass transit overhauls
  • 63% support investing in low-income communities and communities of color to improve their climate resiliency and sustainability
  • 73% support investing in programs for workers and communities impacted by the transition away from coal, oil, and gas
    
     

• 60% of voters said they support the White House’s American Jobs Plan, including 84% of Democrats, 51% of independent voters and 35% of Republicans.
• At least three-quarters of voters support the plans to devote $18 billion to modernize veterans’ hospitals; $115 billion to modernize highways, roads and streets; and $400 billion to improve caregiving for aging and disabled individuals.
• 76% of Democrats said they would support spending $174 billion to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles, including expanding the country’s EV charging network, while just 28% of Republicans said the same.

Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm went live for a special 30-minute “Ask me Anything” (AMA) exclusively for the Climate Advocacy Lab community. The US Department of Energy will be critical to the fight to stop climate change. Listen as community members ask questions of USDOE Secretary Jennifer M. Granholm. Our goal with this event is to get information to the field about the priorities of the US DOE and to uncover opportunities for the field to have more impact on these issues.

Increasing accessibility, affordability, and reliability of public transit is imperative for BIPOC, low-income people, those living in rural areas, seniors, youth, and people with disabilities. COVID-19 exacerbated transportation inaccessibility because of limited routes and slashed service times. It also posed significant threats to transit workers who were not given adequate protection. Transit agencies must have safeguards in place to combat the negative effects of future pandemics as well as climate change. Such policies include better sick and family leave policies for transit drivers and electrification of the transportation sector to meet climate goals.             

• Other measures aimed at combating climate change or transitioning away from fossil fuels also have majority backing, including expanding the country’s electric vehicle charging network (59%) and taking other steps to electrify the transportation sector (52%).
• Increasing housing options for low-income families garners the support of 70% of registered voters, including 87% of Democrats and 53% of Republicans. 
• Millennials are at least 10 points more likely to back all of the proposed educational measures, such as free tuition at historically Black colleges and universities, a measure supported by 38% of all voters.

A 2021 report from Jobs Move to America argues that a quick transition to electric school buses in New York City would not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create cleaner air environments for kids – the move would also create jobs in the city. The report details some key recommendations for achieving these benefits. First, it would require the creation and funding of pilot program and city-wide mandate to transition to electric buses. Then, at the state level, the report recommends securing job improvements for manufacturing and creating a long-term funding source for electric school buses. Advocates interested in supporting moves to electric school buses should consider these recommendations in their own advocacy efforts.

A poll conducted in January of 2021 finds strong support for policies to improve transportation systems and address climate change in the state.  96% of Maryland voters say that ensuring safe and timely commutes to work for Marylanders is an important objective. Around 60% of Marylander voters say that reducing traffic congestion, reducing pollution that contributes to asthma and lung disease, and ensuring low-income communities and communities of color have access to public transportation are very important issues for the Maryland Transportation Authority. Furthermore, nearly 66% of Maryland voters say that Maryland should immediately increase spending on public transportation infrastructure and support a variety of transportation investments, including by not limited to: investing in repairing and maintaining current transportation infrastructure, adding new bus routes and train lines to address transportation inaccessibility, providing tax credits or rebates to those purchasing electric vehicles, and adding bike lanes.
 

A recent survey to better understand American attitudes towards fuel economy, particularly among prospective vehicle buyers (those who intend to purchase or lease a vehicle within the next two years) found: 

• Room for improvement: Prospective buyers who currently have a vehicle most commonly selected fuel economy as one of the attributes of their vehicle that has the most room for improvement (42%); the next-highest selections were purchase price (25%) and maintenance costs (25%).
• Importance of fuel economy to vehicle selection: 64% of Americans who are planning to buy or lease a vehicle within the next two years say that fuel economy is ‘extremely important’ or ‘very important’ to them when considering what vehicle to get next. Only 6% say it is ‘not very important’ or ‘not important at all.’
• Key expectations for automakers: More than 7 in 10 Americans ‘agree’ or ‘strongly agree’ that:
  • automakers should continue to improve fuel economy for all vehicle types;
  • automakers have a responsibility to consumers to improve gas mileage; and
  • each new generation of vehicles available on the market is expected to be more fuel-efficient than the last.