Yale Program on Climate Change Communication

2. Support for Policies to Reduce the Pollution that Causes Global Warming

2.1. Most registered voters support climate-friendly energy policies.

Registered voters across the political spectrum support many energy policies designed to reduce carbon pollution and fossil fuel dependence and promote clean energy, including:

• Funding more research into renewable energy sources: 79% of registered voters, including 98% of liberal Democrats, 88% of moderate/conservative Democrats, 70% of liberal/moderate Republicans, and 50% of conservative Republicans.
• Providing tax rebates to people who purchase energy-efficient vehicles or solar panels: 76% of registered voters, including 97% of liberal Democrats, 84% of moderate/conservative Democrats, 69% of liberal/moderate Republicans, and 45% of conservative Republicans.
• Providing federal funding to make residential buildings in low-income communities more energy efficient: 76% of registered voters, including 95% of liberal Democrats, 84% of moderate/conservative Democrats, 68% of liberal/moderate Republicans, and 47% of conservative Republicans.
• Developing a national program to train people from low-income communities and communities of color for new jobs in the renewable energy industry (such as wind and solar): 75% of registered voters, including 98% of liberal Democrats, 86% of moderate/conservative Democrats, 72% of liberal/moderate Republicans, and 42% of conservative Republicans.
• Developing a national program to train people who work in the fossil fuel industry for new jobs in the renewable energy industry (such as wind and solar): 75% of registered voters, including 96% of liberal Democrats, 84% of moderate/conservative Democrats, 70% of liberal/moderate Republicans, and 42% of conservative Republicans.
• Regulating carbon dioxide as a pollutant: 74% of registered voters, including 95% of liberal Democrats, 85% of moderate/conservative Democrats, 65% of liberal/moderate Republicans, and 42% of conservative Republicans.
• Providing tax credits or rebates to encourage people to buy electric appliances, such as heat pumps and induction stoves, that run on electricity instead of oil or gas: 71% of registered voters, including 92% of liberal Democrats, 78% of moderate/conservative Democrats, 65% of liberal/moderate Republicans, and 44% of conservative Republicans.
• Transitioning the U.S. economy (including electric utilities, transportation, buildings, and industry) from fossil fuels to 100% clean energy by 2050: 69% of registered voters, including 93% of liberal Democrats, 84% of moderate/conservative Democrats, 58% of liberal/moderate Republicans, and 30% of conservative Republicans.
• Requiring fossil fuel companies to pay a carbon tax and using the money to reduce other taxes (such as income tax) by an equal amount [i.e., a revenue-neutral carbon tax]: 68% of registered voters, including 90% of liberal Democrats, 82% of moderate/conservative Democrats, 59% of liberal/moderate Republicans, and 34% of conservative Republicans.
• Requiring electric utilities to produce 100% of their electricity from renewable energy sources by 2035: 66% of registered voters, including 92% of liberal Democrats, 82% of moderate/conservative Democrats, 58% of liberal/moderate Republicans, and 27% of conservative Republicans.

2.2. Most registered voters support conservation and restoration policies.

Registered voters across the political spectrum support a range of conservation and restoration policies, including:

• Providing federal funding to help farmers improve practices to protect and restore the soil so it absorbs more carbon: 82% of registered voters, including 95% of liberal Democrats, 90% of moderate/conservative Democrats, 81% of liberal/moderate Republicans, and 61% of conservative Republicans.
• Creating more parks and green spaces in low-income communities and communities of color: 81% of registered voters, including 95% of liberal Democrats, 89% of moderate/conservative Democrats, 75% of liberal/moderate Republicans, and 59% of conservative Republicans.

2.3. A majority of registered voters support expanding drilling for oil and natural gas off the U.S. coast.

A majority of registered voters (57%) support expanding offshore drilling for oil and natural gas off the U.S. coast. This includes 81% of conservative Republicans, 78% of liberal/moderate Republicans, 56% of moderate/conservative Democrats, and 28% of liberal Democrats.

2.4. A majority of registered voters support building climate-friendly energy production and distribution infrastructure in their local area.

Majorities of registered voters support climate-friendly energy production and distribution infrastructure in their local area, including solar farms (64%), wind farms (57%), electric vehicle charging stations (56%), and high-voltage power lines to distribute clean energy (51%). This generally includes majorities of liberal Democrats and moderate/conservative Democrats, and many liberal/moderate Republicans, but fewer conservative Republicans:

• Solar farms: liberal Democrats, 89%; moderate/conservative Democrats, 65%; liberal/moderate Republicans, 55%; conservative Republicans, 36%.
• Wind farms: liberal Democrats, 83%; moderate/conservative Democrats, 58%; liberal/moderate Republicans, 48%; conservative Republicans, 29%.
• Electric vehicle charging stations: liberal Democrats, 89%; moderate/conservative Democrats, 55%; liberal/moderate Republicans, 45%; conservative Republicans, 30%.
• High-voltage power lines to distribute clean energy: liberal Democrats, 71%; moderate/conservative Democrats, 53%; liberal/moderate Republicans, 35%; conservative Republicans, 35%.

Fewer registered voters support building nuclear power plants in their local area (34%), including 45% of conservative Republicans, 35% of liberal Democrats, 31% of liberal moderate Republicans, and 24% of moderate/conservative Democrats.

2.5. A majority of registered voters would support a president declaring a national emergency to act on global warming.

More than half of registered voters (57%) would either “strongly” (23%) or “somewhat” (34%) support a U.S. president declaring global warming a national emergency to act on it if Congress does not take further action (refer to data tables, p. 36). This would be supported by large majorities of liberal Democrats (91%, with 45% saying they “strongly support” it; refer to data tables) and moderate/conservative Democrats (75%; 29% strongly support). By contrast, 39% of liberal/moderate Republicans and 12% of conservative Republicans would support it, while 86% of conservative Republicans would oppose it (including 72% who would “strongly oppose” it; refer to data tables).