This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including new polling on utility costs, Trump’s handling of energy costs and other energy and environmental issues, climate change impacts, and federal funding cuts.

Most Americans say that their energy bills are higher now than they were a year ago, and there is widespread confusion and dissatisfaction around utilities. Utility bills remain a major cost of living concern, as three in five Americans (62%) say that their electrical and/or gas bill has increased compared to a year ago. Further, around three-quarters (73%) are concerned that their electrical and/or gas bill will increase this year. Most Americans are familiar with their local utilities, but few know much about how their utility sources its energy or how it’s regulated. Around seven in ten (69%) say that they’re at least “somewhat” familiar with their local power and/or gas utilities, though only around half (47%) are at least “somewhat” familiar with how their local utilities source their energy. Just 12% say that they’re “very” familiar with the energy sources that their utility uses. Additionally, less than half of Americans (39%) are familiar with the state or local regulatory agency that oversees their local power or gas utilities.

Since 2018, the Climate Advocacy Lab has distributed Climate Justice Microgrants to 25 environmental justice and climate justice organizations around the United States who are doing powerful work to protect and improve their communities.

Cross sectional survey of 1,635 non-management oil and gas workers in the US revealed new insights and key themes relevant to a truly "just transition" from fossil fuels, including:

This resource displays maps showing where renewable construction jobs, renewable operations jobs, energy efficiency jobs, reduced travel delays, electricity savings, lives saved by cleaner air, and labor hours saved are across the United States. Users can look up this data by zip code.

Texas voters continue to say that the state government isn’t doing enough to protect Texas from climate change, but are confused about who to blame for the state’s energy problems. Texans who are experiencing higher home energy prices are about equally likely to say that President Biden (54%) and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (56%), or ERCOT, deserve a “great deal” of blame for their higher energy bills. When they are informed that the Texas electricity grid is independent and therefore not subject to regulation by the federal government, however, Texas voters are 26 points more likely to say that ERCOT deserves a “great deal” of blame (65%) than President Biden (39%).

Recognize the disruptive potential of climate gentrification. This study looks at the current and potential impact of climate gentrification on low- and middle-income renters in Miami and Tampa, as areas away from the immediate coast become more desirable due to a growing awareness of climate risks. The authors have created a Climate Gentrification Risk Index to help local officials identify areas vulnerable to climate gentrification and plan for long-term land use changes. 

New research is incorporating social and political processes into climate science models. These models usually do not account for political “feedback loops” and only try to predict climate futures based on emissions trajectories and the impacts of policies on them. This interview with a researcher includes a discussion on other forces that are likely to affect climate futures, such as how policies that are (or are not) passed will change public opinion and other forms of political power that will in turn affect policy and have other effects on degrees of global warming. This research is brand new and is trying to make more accurate predictions about how climate policy might affect future climate scenarios.

Climate advocates should continue making the case that doubling down on fossil fuels is not the answer to today’s energy crisis. In response to high energy prices, Americans want to speed up the clean energy transition and increase oil and gas drilling. 52% agree that “The United States should make it easier to drill for oil and gas offshore and on land owned by the federal government, and approve more oil and gas pipelines” (and 25% disagree). 435 agree that “The United States should invest in speeding up the transition from fossil fuels to electric vehicles and clean sources of energy” (and 34% disagree). When asked to choose between increasing fossil fuel extraction or speeding up the transition to cleaner energy sources, Yahoo and YouGov find that Americans are split: 31% prefer making it easier to drill for oil and gas on federal government land and approving more pipelines, 29% prefer speeding up the transition from fossil fuels to electric vehicles and clean sources of energy, and 20% prefer doing both. The public is divided on what impact additional drilling on public land will have in lowering gas prices “in the near future,” with 34% expecting additional drilling will lower gas prices in the near future, 36% expecting that additional drilling won’t lower gas prices in the near future, and 30% not sure enough to say.

Support for Biden’s economic plan, with a description including investments in climate and clean energy, hit a new high. Support for the clean energy-heavy economic plan from Biden and Democrats has reached its highest point in Navigator’s tracking, with 71% now in favor and just 20% opposed. This includes nearly unanimous support from Democrats (91% support / 3% oppose), overwhelming support from independents (70% support / 15% oppose), and even a 10-point margin among Republicans (49% support / 39% oppose). Like other pollsters, Navigator finds that Biden’s job approval is sagging and he scores particularly poorly for his economic performance: the poll finds that voters disapprove of Biden’s handling of the economy by a 56%-41% margin.