Audience: Low-Income Communities

Amplifying working-class people’s experiences with climate and energy may be key for political progress. UK-based Climate Outreach highlights some often-held beliefs by working-class folks in Europe in this resource. Some take individual actions to conserve energy (for financial reasons) but feel powerless to make political change. Some don’t trust politicians. Many favor broadly redistributive climate policies that would make life better for many people, such as expanding public transit. Some want to ensure that freedom and autonomy for individuals would be preserved in any energy transition. Some want to still be able to drive a car (especially those in rural areas) while others are ok with transit options in metro areas. Many favor taxing the rich to finance climate policies.

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls – including a major new report from the Pew Research Center about the clean energy transition, two new polls assessing Americans’ climate attitudes from conservative perspectives, and new polling about energy insecurity among low-income Americans.

Energy insecurity is prevalent among low-income households in the U.S. More than 28% of low-income households surveyed recently reported being unable to pay their energy bill, and nearly 20% received a disconnection notice. Black and Hispanic households experience higher levels of energy insecurity: from November 2021 through January 2022, almost 40% of Hispanic respondents and more than 26% of Black respondents were not able to pay an energy bill. Energy insecurity is especially widespread among households with children. Households often forgo other basic household needs to pay their energy bills. To cope with the expense of energy, households often adjust the temperature in their homes to uncomfortable levels and accumulate utility debt.