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 policies.

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

• Providing federal funding to help farmers improve practices to protect and restore the soil so it absorbs and stores more carbon: 88% of registered voters, including 96% of liberal Democrats, 94% of moderate/conservative Democrats, 83% of liberal/moderate Republicans, and 78% of conservative Republicans.
• Funding more research into renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power: 80% of registered voters, including 96% of liberal Democrats, 94% of moderate/conservative Democrats, 74% of liberal/moderate Republicans, and 55% of conservative Republicans.
• Regulating carbon dioxide (the primary greenhouse gas) as a pollutant: 75% of registered voters, including 95% of liberal Democrats, 90% of moderate/conservative Democrats, 66% of liberal/moderate Republicans, and 50% 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 94% of liberal Democrats, 83% of moderate/conservative Democrats, 66% of liberal/moderate Republicans, and 45% of conservative Republicans.
• Transitioning the U.S. economy (including electric utilities, transportation, buildings, and industry) from fossil fuels to 100% clean energy by 2050: 67% of registered voters, including 95% of liberal Democrats, 86% of moderate/conservative Democrats, 50% of liberal/moderate Republicans, and 31% of conservative Republicans.
• Requiring fossil fuel companies (coal, oil, and natural gas) to pay for the damages caused by global warming: 63% of registered voters, including 92% of liberal Democrats, 82% of moderate/conservative Democrats, 45% of liberal/moderate Republicans, and 30% of conservative Republicans.

2.2 A large majority of registered voters support generating renewable energy on public land.

A large majority of registered voters (76%) support generating renewable energy (solar and wind) on public land in the United States. This includes a large majority of liberal Democrats (91%) and moderate/conservative Democrats (92%) as well as a majority of liberal/moderate Republicans (67%) and half of conservative Republicans (50%).

Fewer registered voters support fossil-fuel production in the United States, including:

• Expanding offshore drilling for oil and natural gas off the U.S. coast: 49% of registered voters, including 79% of conservative Republicans, 77% of liberal/moderate Republicans, 34% of moderate/conservative Democrats, and 18% of liberal Democrats.
• Drilling for and mining fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) on public land in the U.S.: 44% of registered voters, including 75% of conservative Republicans, 65% of liberal/moderate Republicans, 30% of moderate/conservative Democrats, and 13% of liberal Democrats.
• Drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: 30% of registered voters, including 60% of conservative Republicans, 38% of liberal/moderate Republicans, 17% of moderate/conservative Democrats, and 7% of liberal Democrats.

2.3 A majority of registered voters support building clean energy infrastructure in their local area.

About half or more of registered voters support climate-friendly energy production and distribution infrastructure in their local area, including solar farms (59%), wind farms (56%), and high-voltage power lines to distribute clean energy (51%), and electric vehicle charging stations (49%). These include majorities of liberal Democrats and moderate/conservative Democrats, and many liberal/moderate Republicans, but fewer conservative Republicans:

• Solar farms: liberal Democrats, 86%; moderate/conservative Democrats, 66%; liberal/moderate Republicans, 57%; conservative Republicans, 34%.
• Wind farms: liberal Democrats, 83%; moderate/conservative Democrats, 70%; liberal/moderate Republicans, 47%; conservative Republicans, 27%.
• High-voltage power lines to distribute clean energy: liberal Democrats, 65%; moderate/conservative Democrats, 52%; liberal/moderate Republicans, 53%; conservative Republicans, 41%.
• Electric vehicle charging stations: liberal Democrats, 80%; moderate/conservative Democrats, 60%; liberal/moderate Republicans, 42%; conservative Republicans, 22%.

Fewer registered voters support building nuclear power plants in their local area (38%), including 50% of conservative Republicans, 45% of liberal/moderate Republicans, 38% of liberal Democrats, and 27% of moderate/conservative Democrats.

2.4 A large majority of registered voters support strengthening enforcement of industrial pollution limits in disproportionately impacted communities.

A large majority of registered voters across the political spectrum (79%) support strengthening enforcement of industrial pollution limits in low-income communities and communities of color that are disproportionately impacted by air and water pollution. This includes 97% of liberal Democrats, 89% of moderate/conservative Democrats, 72% of liberal/moderate Republicans, and 58% of conservative Republicans (+11 percentage points since we last asked this question in Fall 2024).

2.5 A large majority of registered voters oppose eliminating programs related to global warming.

A large majority of registered voters oppose eliminating programs related to global warming, including:

• Ordering all federal agencies (such as NASA, NOAA, and the EPA) to stop doing research on global warming: 79% of registered voters, including 98% of liberal Democrats, 89% of moderate/conservative Democrats, 73% of liberal/moderate Republicans, and 56% of conservative Republicans.
• Ordering all federal agencies (such as NASA, NOAA, and the EPA) to stop providing information about global warming to the public: 78% of registered voters, including 96% of liberal Democrats, 87% of moderate/conservative Democrats, 69% of liberal/moderate Republicans, and 58% of conservative Republicans.
• Eliminating the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA): 75% of registered voters, including 98% of liberal Democrats, 88% of moderate/conservative Democrats, 66% of liberal/moderate Republicans, and 47% of conservative Republicans.
• Prohibiting the construction of new offshore wind farms: 63% of registered voters, including 82% of liberal Democrats, 66% of moderate/conservative Democrats, 57% of liberal/moderate Republicans, and 46% of conservative Republicans.