Issue: Oil

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls – including new polling about increasing domestic energy production from different sources amid the crisis in Ukraine and a new poll on water-related environmental issues.

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls – including new guidance for advocates on how to communicate about rising gas prices and the need to shift away from dependence on oil, new polling on Green New Deal proposals, a comparison of American adults’ climate attitudes to climate scientists’, and new polling of young voters about climate issues.

Gas prices are dominating Americans’ thinking, and people are more likely to blame our dependence on oil and price gouging by corporations than climate policies. 90% of Americans are very or fairly concerned about gasoline prices, compared to the Russian invasion of Ukraine (88%), cost of healthcare (84%), America’s dependence on oil (84%), climate change and impact of extreme weather events (64%), and COVID-19 (58%). 61% of Americans blame U.S. dependence on oil for gas price increases, compared to “price gouging and excessive profits for oil companies” (60%), decisions by oil producers in the United States and overseas to limit production (60%), Russia invading Ukraine (59%), the cancellation of some U.S. oil pipeline construction projects (54%), and environmental policies that limit oil drilling on public lands and offshore (46%). Predictably, Republicans are more likely to blame environmental policies, Democrats are more likely to blame oil dependence and fossil fuel companies’ price gouging—and swing voters are more likely to agree with Democrats. Majorities of voters favor lots of policies that could mitigate gas price increases, including cracking down on price gouging, banning some oil exports, windfall profits tax on fossil fuel companies, and more. This poll’s authors argue for being explicit about the causes of gas price increase—dependence on oil and fossil fuel companies profiting off this war—when messaging about gas prices and climate policy.

69% of Americans believe we should prioritize developing renewable energy alternatives. Just 30% believe the U.S. should prioritize increased fossil fuel production. However, 67% believe we should keep a mix of renewables and fossil fuels, as compared to phasing out fossil fuels completely (31%). Democrats are far more in favor of renewables—as compared to fossil fuels—than Republicans, although both sets of voters have internal divisions within them, too. 75% of Americans support America playing a role in international climate negotiations. 72% of Americans support the U.S. government encouraging wind and solar production, compared to 51% for electric vehicles, 35% for nuclear power, 33% for oil and gas drilling, and 20% for coal mining. 69% of Americans favor the U.S. taking steps to become carbon-neutral by 2050. This survey includes lots more related questions.