Drawing on a representative sample of the U.S. adult population (n = 1,040; including the 915 registered voters whose data are used in this report), these findings describe how registered voters view a variety of domestic climate and energy policies. The survey was fielded from May 1 – 12, 2025.
This executive summary presents the results for all registered voters, while the main text of the report also breaks the results down by political party and ideology.
Global Warming and Clean Energy as Government Priorities
- 52% of registered voters think global warming should be a high or very high priority for the president and Congress.
- 64% of registered voters think developing sources of clean energy should be a high or very high priority for the president and Congress.
Policies to Reduce the Pollution that Causes Global Warming
Majorities of registered voters support a range of policies to reduce carbon pollution and promote clean energy. These include:
- 88% support federal funding to help farmers improve practices to protect and restore the soil so it absorbs and stores more carbon.
- 80% support funding more research into renewable energy sources.
- 75% support regulating carbon dioxide as a pollutant.
- 71% support tax credits or rebates to encourage people to buy electric appliances, such as heat pumps and induction stoves.
- 67% support transitioning the U.S. economy from fossil fuels to 100% clean energy by 2050.
- 63% support requiring fossil fuel companies to pay for the damages caused by global warming.
Energy Production
- 76% of registered voters support generating renewable energy on public land in the U.S.
- 49% support expanding offshore drilling for oil and natural gas off the U.S. coast.
- 44% support drilling and mining fossil fuels on public land in the U.S.
- 30% support drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Clean Energy Infrastructure
Many registered voters support building clean energy infrastructure in their local area. These include:
- Solar farms (59%).
- Wind farms (56%).
- High-voltage power lines to distribute clean energy (51%),
- Electric vehicle charging stations (49%).
- Nuclear power plants (38%).
Strengthening pollution enforcement
- 79% of registered 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.
Eliminating global warming programs
- 79% of registered voters oppose ordering all federal agencies to stop doing research on global warming.
- 78% oppose ordering all federal agencies to stop providing information about global warming to the public.
- 75% oppose eliminating the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
- 63% oppose prohibiting construction of new offshore wind farms.
The Foreign Pollution Fee Act
The Foreign Pollution Fee Act, proposed by Republican members of the U.S. Senate, proposes to impose a fee on products imported into the United States based on the amount of carbon pollution produced in their creation. The Act would hold major polluters like China accountable and boost U.S. companies, which have higher environmental standards.
- Few registered voters have heard of this proposed bill: Only 3% of registered voters have heard either “a lot” or “a moderate amount” about it.
- After reading a short description of the Foreign Pollution Fee Act, 81% of registered voters said they support the proposal.
The Paris Climate Agreement
- 79% of registered voters support U.S. participation in the Paris Climate Agreement.
- 65% oppose President Trump’s decision to pull the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Agreement.
Energy Production as an Economic Issue
- 48% of registered voters think policies that promote clean energy will improve economic growth and provide new jobs, while 29% think clean energy policies will reduce economic growth and cost jobs.
Transitioning from Fossil Fuels to Clean Energy
- 74% of registered voters say the U.S. should use more renewable energy than it does today and 57% say the U.S. should use less fossil fuels than it does today.
Who Should Act?
- Half or more of registered voters say the following parties should do more to address global warming: Corporations and industry (70%), the U.S. Congress (64%), citizens themselves (62%), the Republican Party (62%), President Trump (60%), local government officials (56%), the Democratic Party (56%), their governor (55%), and the media (54%). About half (48%) say they themselves should do more.
Political Advocacy
- 2% of registered voters say they are currently participating in a campaign to convince elected officials to take action to reduce global warming, while 13% say they would “definitely” join such a campaign and 20% would “probably” join one.
- 56% of registered voters say they would sign a petition about global warming if asked by a person they like and respect. Additionally, 34% would donate money to an organization working on global warming, 33% would contact government officials about global warming, 32% would volunteer their time to an organization working on global warming, and 27% would meet with an elected official or their staff about global warming if asked.
- 27% say they would support an organization engaging in non-violent civil disobedience against corporate or government activities that make global warming worse, 14% say they would personally engage in non-violent civil disobedience, and 3% say they would be willing to get arrested as part of such an action.
- 15% say they have signed a petition about global warming in the past year, 13% say they have donated money to an organization working on global warming, and 5% have volunteered their time to such an organization.
- 8% of registered voters have contacted government officials in the past year to urge them to take action to reduce global warming.
Barriers to Political Advocacy
- 80% of registered voters say nobody has ever asked them to contact officials about global warming. Additionally, 67% say contacting elected officials about global warming wouldn’t make any difference, 63% say they do not contact elected officials about global warming because they are not an activist, 62% say they don’t know which elected officials to contact, 54% wouldn’t know what to say, 52% would feel uncomfortable doing so, 48% say they are too busy, 47% say it’s too much effort, 42% say it’s not important, 38% are concerned about attracting unwanted attention from government authorities, 27% are already taking other actions, and 17% say people will make fun of them or criticize them if they contact elected officials about global warming.
Openness to Information
- 35% of registered voters say they need more information in order to form a firm opinion about global warming.
- 28% say they could easily change their mind about global warming.
Collective Efficacy
- 40% of registered voters are at least “moderately confident” that people like them, working together, can affect what the federal government does about global warming, and 40% are confident that they can affect what corporations do about global warming.
Educating Students About Global Warming
- 78% of registered voters say schools should teach children about global warming’s causes, consequences, and potential solutions.