Issue: Climate Policy

The Build Back Better plan has majority support in key congressional swing districts, and ‘polluters pay’ laws and renewable energy investments are especially popular. These district-specific polls show that the Build Back Better plan has majority support in two very tough Democratic-held congressional districts. After reading a brief description that outlines the price tag and major provisions, Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux’s constituents in GA-07 support the plan by a 54%-44% margin and Rep. Abigail Spanberger’s constituents in VA-07 support it by a 53%-44% margin. Specific clean energy provisions poll even higher, as voters in GA-07 support measures to accelerate the adoption of renewable energy by a 64%-33% margin and voters in VA-07 support these measures by a 62%-34% margin. One finding from these polls that is broadly applicable regardless of the location you focus on is the salience of corporate accountability on climate change. When presented with the idea of reinstating ‘polluters pay’ laws to “require corporate polluters to fund the clean up of their industry’s toxic pollution and set a fee on oil and gas companies that emit methane,” voters back the idea by overwhelming margins in both GA-07 (72% support / 26% oppose) and VA-07 (68% support / 27% oppose).

This post includes a roundup of climate + environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from this week’s public polls – including new polling on the Build Back Better plan nationally and in key states and new polling on extreme weather events and government action on climate.
 
HEADLINES

Navigator – Voters support the full Build Back Better plan by a roughly two-to-one margin, with intensity clearly on the side of supporters; voters see it as an “urgent” priority when they learn it’s tied to the bipartisan infrastructure bill (Topline)
BlueGreen Alliance – Jobs, water infrastructure, and “made in America” provisions drive support for the Build Back Better plan in AZ, CO, VA, & WV; only half of voters in these key states are hearing about the plan (Release, Deck, AZ Memo, CO Memo, VA Memo, WV Memo)
Quinnipiac – Most Americans say the U.S. isn’t doing enough to address climate change; the Build Back Better plan has majority support even when described as “a spending bill on social programs” (Release)
Monmouth – Nearly two-thirds of Americans support government action to reduce climate change; most see climate change as a major factor in recent western wildfires and eastern floods (Release, Crosstabs)

This post includes a roundup of climate + environment headlines from this week’s public polls, good data points to highlight, and a full roundup with key takeaways from each poll – including timely new polling on the Build Back Better plan and its climate provisions nationally and in key battlegrounds, as well as new polling about the most trusted messengers on climate change.
HEADLINES

Navigator – Three in five Americans support the full $3.5 trillion Build Back Better plan, with or without explicit pay-fors (Report)
Sierra Club – Arizona voters widely support the full $3.5 trillion Build Back Better plan and overwhelmingly oppose proposed cuts; majorities believe climate change is already affecting the state and want to see Arizona become a clean energy leader (Release, Memo, Topline)
Climate Power + Data for Progress – Voters in frontline Democratic-held districts widely support the full $3.5 trillion Build Back Better plan (Release, AZ-01 Topline, FL-07 Topline, GA-07 Topline, IA-03 Topline, ME-02 Topline, MI-08 Topline, NJ-05 Topline, NY-04 Topline)
NRDC Action Fund – Climate action is an important motivator for low-propensity Democrats and independents in the 2022 midterm elections (Release)
Data for Progress – Majorities continue to support the major climate-related aspects of the Build Back Better plan, with energy efficiency and clean energy provisions especially popular (Release, Topline)
Data for Progress – Voters nationwide support the Clean Electricity Performance Program to incentivize clean energy goals for utilities; supporters have winning arguments to use against pushback (Release)
Morning Consult – Scientists are the most trusted sources of information about climate change across party lines; most Americans believe that climate change is already affecting the environment and weather where they live (Article, Crosstabs)
Yale Program on Climate Change Communication + George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication – Public concern about climate change is rising, and support for federal climate action is rising along with it (Article on climate beliefs and concerns, Article on support for climate action)