One challenge that climate policy folks are working on is developing the supply chain to make batteries in the U.S. There has been an epic battle over the past 20 years between two types of lithium-ion batteries: nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) and lithium iron phosphate (LFP). While NMC still boasts better energy density, LFP is making a major comeback thanks to its safer, more accessible materials and improving performance. However, China still dominates the LFP supply chain. In this episode, CEO Vivas Kumar of startup Mitra Chem weighs in on why America needs domestic production of LFP materials.

Seven in ten voters support the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) when they see a basic explanation of it. Voters support the IRA by an overwhelming 71%-20% margin when provided with the following description: “The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 invests over $430 billion in clean energy and Affordable Care Act healthcare premiums. It also allows Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices and pays down the national debt by $300 billion.” Data for Progress also finds that the IRA continues to hold a significant amount of cross-party appeal, with nearly nine in ten Democrats (89%), more than two-thirds of independents (72%), and half of Republicans (52%) saying that they support the law based on the description that the poll provided. Advocates have a strong case that workers and lower/middle class families stand to benefit most from the law. Majorities of voters believe that workers or jobseekers (64%) and middle and lower class Americans (62%) will benefit from the IRA after learning about the law’s major climate and health care provisions.

Nearly two-thirds of Latino voters prefer a president who prioritizes climate action over one who prioritizes oil and gas. Latino voters widely agree that extreme weather is becoming worse because of climate change and increasing their utility bills. 83% of Latino voters are concerned about air and water pollution, including 49% who are “very concerned” about it. 78% of Latino voters are concerned about climate change, including 46% who are “very concerned” about it. 65% of Latino voters agree that “we need a president who is committed to addressing climate change and extreme weather and who will make it a key priority of their policy agenda”. 67% of Latino voters agree that extreme weather events are increasing in frequency, and 72% attribute them to climate change.

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including new national and swing state polling on the IRA’s tax credits and offshore drilling + new research on the terminology of climate change + new polling in Pennsylvania, Georgia, and South Carolina.

Overwhelming majorities nationally and in key swing states support maintaining tax credits for EVs, clean energy, and energy efficiency while limiting offshore drilling. 88% of Americans support maintaining or increasing the tax credit for residential clean energy production. 89% of Americans support maintaining or increasing the tax credit for new energy-efficient heating or air conditioning systems. 86% of Americans support maintaining or increasing the tax credit for energy-saving improvements, such as fuel-efficient lighting, doors, windows, or insulation. 70% of Americans support the EPA’s standards requiring new cars and light trucks to get 20-30% more miles per gallon by 2027. 80% of Americans support maintaining or increasing the tax credit for used EVs, and 79% support maintaining or increasing the tax credit for new EVs. 76% of Americans say that the government should either maintain or decrease the current amount of offshore drilling, while only 23% want to increase it.

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including new polling on climate and clean energy issues in the presidential race, extreme weather, nuclear energy, and PFAS.

Pennsylvania voters widely support expanding clean energy in the state, as most believe that it will bring benefits for people’s health and future generations. 78% of Pennsylvania voters support the state “significantly” increasing its use of clean energy sources like wind and solar to generate electricity, with around half (48%) strongly in favor of this proposal. Support for clean energy expansion also extends across party lines in the state, with 93% of Democrats, 84% of independents, and 59% of Republicans all in favor. Additionally, Pennsylvanians are far more likely to anticipate positive than negative impacts from clean energy expansion on the economy (49% positive / 23% negative), the reliability of electricity (47% positive / 21% negative), and the affordability of electricity (46% positive / 25% negative).

Support for nuclear power has been steadily increasing over the past several years, and the majority of Americans now say that the country should expand its use. More than half of Americans (56%) now say that they favor building more nuclear power plants, which represents a 13-point increase since 2020 (43%) in Pew’s polling. While solar and wind remain the only energy sources that bipartisan majorities support expanding, the gap between Democratic and Republican support for nuclear energy is less than for any other energy source tested by Pew. Here are the differences between Democrats’ and Republicans’ support for expanding different energy sources, ranked from smallest to largest: Nuclear power plants – 18 points (67% of Republicans and 49% of Democrats); Solar panel farms – 27 points (91% of Democrats and 64% of Republicans); Wind turbine farms – 32 points (88% of Democrats and 56% of Republicans); Hydraulic fracking – 45 points (68% of Republicans and 23% of Democrats); Offshore oil and gas drilling – 47 points (73% of Republicans and 26% of Democrats); Coal mining – 48 points (64% of Republicans and 16% of Democrats).

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including new polling on extreme weather, environmental justice, water quality, offshore wind, and proposed measures to protect workers from extreme heat.

Voters overwhelmingly support proposed new OSHA rules to protect workers from extreme heat. Voters recognize that extreme heat is a hazard for workers. More than four in ten (84%) say that they are concerned about workers facing extreme heat while at the workplace, including 42% who are “very concerned” about it. Concern intensifies when voters learn about the lack of safeguards to protect workers from extreme heat. After reading that “employers are not currently obligated to provide workers with protections against extreme heat, like breaks to cool off or drink water,” nearly nine in ten (88%) say that they are concerned about workers facing extreme heat and most (53%) are “very concerned” about it. Despite the deep partisan polarization that we commonly see in polls about government regulations, voters across party lines are closely aligned on this topic: 96% of Democrats, 86% of independents, and 86% of Republicans say that they support these proposed new OSHA rules.