This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including new polling about how voters in last month’s election felt about the clean energy transition and about how the election results are impacting public opinion about climate change.

The electorate has a growing awareness of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and its energy efficiency and electrification incentives: 63% of respondents say they are somewhat or very interested in pursuing home electrification and efficiency upgrades. This includes 70% of Latino Americans, 66% of Black Americans, 60% of White Americans, and 58% of rural Americans. Additionally, voters report that the components of the IRA that make them more likely to support federal investments in clean energy and energy efficiency focus on potential cost savings from energy efficiency upgrades and the creation of new clean energy jobs. In addition to voters overall, majorities of voters across partisanship favor keeping various IRA incentives, rather than ending them. After reading that components of the IRA may face repeal by a new administration, voters say that losing household energy savings or economy-wide air quality improvement benefits are among the most concerning outcomes of IRA repeal.

Voters, including swing voters, side more with clean energy advocates in the debate over the country’s energy future. By a 55%-45% margin, voters side more with an argument in favor of prioritizing clean energy over an argument in favor of prioritizing oil and gas. Swing voters (defined as those who did not rule out voting for either Harris or Trump from the start of the candidates’ campaigns) side more with the argument in favor of clean energy by a 14-point margin, which is even wider than the 10-point margin that Navigator found among the overall electorate.

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including new polling about Trump’s plans for the EPA and new findings about climate change as an issue in the 2024 election.

Voters oppose Lee Zeldin’s nomination to lead the EPA after learning about his record on the environment. Voters oppose Lee Zeldin’s nomination as EPA Administrator by a 15-point margin (36% support / 51% oppose) after reading a brief statement about his environmental record. Less than three in ten voters (27%) are familiar with Zeldin, and those who have heard of him are split evenly in their attitudes about him (14% favorable / 14% unfavorable). The majority of voters (54%) say that they disapprove of recess appointments and want Trump’s cabinet nominees to be confirmed by the Senate, whereas 38% say that Trump should be able to appoint his cabinet without Senate confirmation. Voters are predictably divided by partisanship over this issue, with the majority of Republicans (68%) approving of recess appointments for Trump’s cabinet while majorities of Democrats (80%) and independents (60%) disapprove.

Americans have grown more concerned about climate change since before the election, with many saying that Trump’s victory deepened their concerns. 72% of Americans say that they’re at least “somewhat” concerned about climate change, an increase of five points since June. 45% of Americans say that the result of the election made them more concerned about climate change, while just 5% say that it made them less concerned. Overall climate concern among independents has increased by nine points since June (69% at least “somewhat” concerned, up from 60%), and concern among Republicans has increased by four points (56% at least “somewhat” concerned, up from 52%). The large majority of Democrats (68%) say that they have become more concerned about climate change as a result of the election, including more than two in five (43%) who say that their climate concern has increased “a lot” as a result of the election. Meanwhile, two in five independents (40%) and about one-quarter of Republicans (24%) also say that the election results made them more concerned about climate change.

Climate change was one of voters’ top reasons to support Harris over Trump. Polls of the 2024 electorate, both before and after the election, have consistently found that abortion and climate change were Harris’s clearest issue strengths against Trump. Of the issues named in the survey, climate change ranked on par with Project 2025, abortion, and January 6th as the clearest rationales to support Harris rather than Trump: the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, 2021 – Harris +21; the proposals within Project 2025 – Harris +21; U.S. efforts to fight climate change – Harris +20; the status of abortion laws in the U.S. – Harris +18.

Building narrative power helps to achieve three important things: building a future where frontline narratives are dominant narratives; shifting who owns and run the narrative ‘means of production’; and making community-led policy change and culture change durable. To design narrative research, begin by understanding the narrative landscape within which an issue or dynamic is operating and assessing the collective capacity to drive narrative change; then test narrative interventions, like mini-campaigns. Employ advisors on our research projects is helpful to understand the nuance and complexity of a policy agenda or a lived-experience. Choosing research participants who are typically engaged in the issue area being explored is helpful (for example, organizers with a local organization managing volunteers, a policy advocate for a specific community or issue area, a lawyer who utilizes the legal system to highlight solutions for the challenges workers and migrants face, an artist who uses their craft to raise up voices and awareness). Moreover, interviews are key to understanding what is needed to build and hold a shared understanding of the narrative landscape in which these communities exist.

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including new findings about the 2024 electorate’s views on climate change and clean energy.

Voters who participated in the election, especially voters of color, overwhelmingly support expanding clean energy and investing in climate resilience. 84% of voters who participated in the election support expanding clean energy investments to create more manufacturing jobs in the U.S. 83% of voters who participated in the election support expanding clean energy investments to lower electricity bills and energy costs. 84% of voters who participated in the election support providing more resources to protect families against the impacts of climate change and to prepare for and recover from future climate disasters. Among Black voters, 92% support providing more resources to protect families against the impacts of climate change and to prepare for and recover from future climate disasters, including 56% who “strongly” support the idea, 91% support expanding clean energy investments as a way to lower electricity bills and energy costs, including 59% who “strongly” support the idea, and 89% support expanding clean energy investments as a way to create more manufacturing jobs in the U.S., including 51% who “strongly” support the idea. Among Latino voters, 90% support expanding clean energy investments as a way to lower electricity bills and energy costs, including 46% who “strongly” support the idea, 90% support expanding clean energy investments as a way to create more manufacturing jobs in the U.S., including 45% who “strongly” support the idea, and 88% support providing more resources to protect families against the impacts of climate change and to prepare for and recover from future climate disasters, including 47% who “strongly” support the idea.