Issue: Climate Policy

Voters in the U.S. largely support spending money on clean energy infrastructure investment as a recovery tool to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. Support is strongest for assistance being given to states that experienced recent extreme weather and climate disasters (80%), and nearly as many people (76%) support reinforcing existing and building new infrastructure that will withstand the changes in climate. Even more progressive policies like the multitrillion dollar economic stimulus focused on green energy receives support from the majority of voters (62%). Moreover, people support action being taken on these policies even when there is not bipartisan support from Republicans.

Climate Nexus’s national poll this month focuses on infrastructure but also touches on several other key debates over climate and clean energy.
The poll is also interesting in that it is one of the few public polls that puts clean energy front and center in its description of the American Jobs Plan, and even connects the bill to a 100% clean economy goal. Consistent with other polling that has found that climate and clean energy components enhance support for the American Jobs Plan, Climate Nexus finds that voters have overwhelmingly positive reactions to big investment in clean energy infrastructure.
Voters support the idea of “multi-trillion-dollar economic stimulus legislation that prioritizes investments in clean energy infrastructure and technologies” by a 62%-29% margin, and continue to support it by a 56%-44% margin after learning that it would likely need to pass with no Republican votes.
The reason that the proposal enjoys majority support, even when presented as partisan legislation, is that Democratic voters care more about passing clean energy legislation than Republican voters care about stopping it: Democrats support passing a clean energy bill on a hypothetical party-line vote by a 91%-9% margin, while Republican voters oppose it by an 81%-19% margin.

A May 2021 poll found high support for a Climate Conservation Corps and medium support for nature-based climate solutions. Among likely voters surveyed, 83% of Democrats, 67% of Independents, and even 50% of Republicans support “government investments in a new “Climate Conservation Corps.” 80% of Democrats, 59% of Independents, and 41% of Republicans support “ocean climate action, which is harnessing the natural ability of the ocean to fight climate change.” Voters showed similar levels of support for “nature-based solutions to climate change.”             

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls – including polling on the American Jobs Plan, taxes for infrastructure, the Keystone XL cancellation, and climate impacts.