Environmental Polling Roundup – April 21st, 2023

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls – including new national and international polling on climate action, climate impacts, and clean energy.

HEADLINES

Gallup – Steady majorities of Americans say that global warming’s effects are here and human-caused, but concerns over environmental problems have been trending down since their spike under Trump (Global Warming Article, Environmental Problems Article)

Pew – The majority of Americans say that climate change is affecting their local community; most want the government to encourage clean energy but not fossil fuels (Article, Topline)

CBS News + YouGov – Most Americans say that climate change needs to be addressed “right now” (Article, Topline + Crosstabs)

Ipsos [International] – Across 29 countries, citizens overwhelmingly agree that their governments should do more to address climate change; however, prioritization of climate change has slipped compared to past years (Website, Press Release, Full Report)

Monmouth University – Democratic voters are more aligned on climate change than on any other major issue, as nearly two-thirds say that you can’t be a “good Democrat” if you deny climate change (Article, Full Report)

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Clean water continues to be the public’s number one environmental priority. Gallup finds that Americans are considerably more worried about the pollution of drinking water and water sources than they are about other environmental problems such as air pollution and climate change, which is consistent with years of polling from Gallup and other leading polling organizations.
• Clean energy remains a clear winning issue. Pew finds that Americans are nearly twice as likely to say that the federal government should encourage the production of wind and solar power (66%) as they are to say that the government should encourage oil and gas drilling (34%). Amid unprecedented levels of polarization on climate and energy issues, the consensus in favor of clean energy remains durable.
• Americans’ environmental attitudes are connected to their views of the president – and we accordingly need to do more to mobilize Democratic voters when Democrats hold the White House. Researchers have long recognized that partisans change their stated views in response to which party holds the White House; for example, voters rate the country’s economy better when the president shares their party affiliation. We are now seeing a similar kind of effect around climate and energy issues, with Gallup finding that Democrats have grown relatively less concerned about climate change and other environmental problems under Biden than they were under Trump. This tendency toward complacency means that we need to intensify our efforts to mobilize the public during windows of opportunity for federal action on climate and environmental issues.

GOOD DATA POINTS TO HIGHLIGHT

• [Climate Action] 67% of Americans agree that large businesses and corporations are doing too little to help reduce the effects of global climate change [Pew]
• [Clean Energy] 66% of Americans say that the federal government should encourage the production of wind and solar power [Pew]
• [Climate Causes] By a 62%-36% margin, Americans say that increases in Earth’s temperature over the last century are more due to the effects of pollution from human activities than to natural changes in the environment [Gallup]
• [Climate Impacts] 61% of Americans agree that climate change is having at least “some” impact on their local community [Pew]
• [Climate Action] 58% of Americans agree that their state elected officials are doing too little to help reduce the effects of global climate change [Pew]
• [Climate Action] 53% of Americans say that climate change needs to be addressed “right now” [CBS News + YouGov]
• [Issue Priority] More Americans say that climate/environment is the number one “most important issue” for them than any other issue besides inflation/prices, health care, and the economy/jobs [The Economist + YouGov]