This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including new polling on opposition to government shutdowns and repealing Inflation Reduction Act funding as well as understanding of Biden's clean energy policies.

Nearly two-thirds of Americans acknowledge that President Biden has funded clean energy projects, making it one of the most widely recognized accomplishments of his presidency.

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including new polling on support for climate justice policies, the EPA and FDA, climate impacts, and climate as a top priority among young people.

Voters don’t want a government shutdown, or proposed cuts to clean water and IRA implementation. 75% of voters oppose proposed cuts to funding to provide safe and clean drinking water and to protect children from lead poisoning. 59% of voters oppose proposed cuts to government investments from the Inflation Reduction Act to combat the climate crisis. 58% of voters disagree that the U.S. should put more tax subsidies into traditional fossil fuels and take away benefits for investing in clean energy like wind and solar power.

Climate and the environment are top issues for young Americans in the 2024 elections. When asked to pick a maximum of three important issues that will inform their vote ahead of next year, a quarter of young Americans say health care is top of mind, closely followed by the economy and housing affordability at 24%. Along with issues related to reproductive rights (23%), climate change (21%), and gun violence (20%).

Halted EPA and FDA site inspections rank among voters’ greatest concerns about a federal government shutdown. 71% of voters are concerned that a government shutdown would halt site inspections by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for potential human and environmental safety risks.

Majorities of Americans say that climate change is caused by humans and contributing to recent extreme weather events. 67% of Americans are concerned about climate change, including 41% who are “very” concerned. 59% of Americans believe that recent climate change is primarily caused by human activity. 58% of Americans believe that the extreme weather events in the United States over the past few years are related to climate change.

Americans are largely unfamiliar with the concept of “climate justice,” but support the goals of climate justice and key climate justice policies when they learn about them. 81% of voters support creating more parks and green spaces in low-income communities and communities of color. 77% of voters support strengthening enforcement of industrial pollution limits in low-income communities and communities of color that are disproportionately impacted by air and water pollution. 75% of voters support developing a national program to train people from low-income communities and communities of color for new jobs in the renewable energy industry. 53% of voters support the goals of climate justice after reading a brief description of the concept.

Young voters are pessimistic about everything from the economy to the direction the country is headed to their ability to handle an unexpected $1,000 expense. Beyond that, they don’t think politicians keep their promises. They blame the Supreme Court for blocking President Biden’s loan forgiveness plan and worry about being able to afford groceries. There is a striking gender divide in topics such as how young people identify politically (men see themselves as more conservative while women, trans, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming people are more liberal) and the podcasts they listen to (men are inclined to listen to The Joe Rogan Experience and The Ben Shapiro Show, while women are bigger fans of This American Life and The Daily). 41% percent of women surveyed identify as politically progressive; only 24% of men do. Meanwhile, 23% of women consider themselves to be liberal, while only 15% of men feel the same; 18% of the men surveyed count themselves as conservative, compared with only 11% of women. 11% percent of men say they are most aligned with “MAGA,” or Donald Trump’s brand of politics, while only 3% of women do.

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including new polling on Americans' beliefs about climate impacts in their areas and lifetimes and partisan polarization about beliefs about climate impacts.