This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including new polling on extreme weather, clean water, EVs, and voters’ perceptions about the costs of different energy sources.

Headlines

Gallup – A rising share of Americans report experience with extreme weather, as nearly two in five say that they’ve been affected in the past two years [Article]

Value of Water Campaign – Voters overwhelmingly support continued federal funding for water infrastructure projects [Website, Fact Sheet]

Centerline Liberties + Zero Emission Transportation Association + Conservative Energy Network – Large majorities of voters across party lines agree that the federal government should invest in American EV manufacturing jobs, expand EV charging infrastructure, and help make EVs more affordable [Press Release, Memo, Deck]

Data for Progress – Voters are most likely to believe that solar is the cheapest source of energy today, followed by wind and natural gas [Release, Crosstabs]

Key Takeaways

Voters want the government to back the domestic EV industry, even if they aren’t in the market for an electric vehicle themselves. New polling from a coalition of groups including Centerline Liberties, the Zero Emission Transportation Network, and the Conservative Energy Network finds broad support for federal investment in electric vehicles. In opposition to Trump’s anti-EV push, large majorities across party lines say that the government should invest in the domestic EV industry for a wide variety of reasons – including to create and retain jobs, make EVs more affordable for consumers, bolster the U.S. auto industry, and help the U.S. compete with other countries like China.

Importantly, the poll finds widespread agreement with all of these rationales for EV investment – as well as continued support for consumer incentives for EVs – even though most respondents said that they aren’t likely to buy or lease an EV themselves. This shows that there is a path to strengthen public support for pro-EV policies regardless of consumers’ own personal preferences.

Voters are catching up to the fact that renewables are now cheaper than fossil fuels. Data for Progress finds that voters are more likely to choose clean energy sources such as solar and wind than fossil fuels like natural gas and coal when asked to identify the “cheapest sources of energy today,” as voters are catching up to the long-term trends that have seen renewables recently become cheaper than fossil fuels.

Given that consumer cost impacts remain the key front in the debate over the country’s energy future in almost every poll on the topic, raising public awareness that clean energy saves consumers money is one of the most important things that advocates can do to support pro-climate policies.

Good Data Points to Highlight

• [Water] 92% of voters say that reliable water access is an “extremely” or “very” important issue, even ranking it ahead of inflation (86%) or the economy (85%) in its importance [Value of Water Campaign]
• [Water] 80% of voters support continued federal funding for water infrastructure [Value of Water Campaign]
• [Water + Elections] 76% of voters would feel more favorably about an elected official who supports additional investment in water infrastructure, while 66% would feel less favorably about an elected official who opposes additional investment in water infrastructure [Value of Water Campaign]
• [EVs] 85% of voters say that the federal government should increase the number and reliability of public electric vehicle charging stations [Centerline Liberties + Zero Emission Transportation Association + Conservative Energy Network]
• [EVs] 85% of voters say that the federal government should make electric vehicles more affordable for average Americans and working families [Centerline Liberties + Zero Emission Transportation Association + Conservative Energy Network]
• [EVs] 80% of voters say that the federal government should make investments that create electric vehicle manufacturing jobs in the U.S. [Centerline Liberties + Zero Emission Transportation Association + Conservative Energy Network]
• [EVs] 72% of voters say that the federal government should keep the $7,500 tax break for Americans who buy an electric vehicle [Centerline Liberties + Zero Emission Transportation Association + Conservative Energy Network]
• [Clean Energy] More voters name solar (28%) as the cheapest source of energy today than fossil fuels such as natural gas (17%) or coal (5%) [Data for Progress]