Yale Program on Climate Change Communication

Home / Explore 16 Years of U.S. Climate Opinions with the CCAM Explorer / fig4_policies_over_time_caption

· April 29, 2025

fig4_policies_over_time_caption

This trend plot shows support for three climate change policies: regulating CO2 as a pollutant, generating renewable energy on public land, and support for a carbon tax, over time from 2008 through 2024. Regulating CO2 as a pollutant and support for a carboon tax have held stable majority support over time. While support for generating renewable energy on public land has decreased slightly over time, it still has strong majority support (77%). The figure contains the caption: "Fig. 4. A majority of registered voters understand that carbon pollution is harmful and support policies to regulate emissions. Percentage of registered voters who support regulating CO2 as a pollutant, generating renewable energy on public land, and requiring fossil fuel companies to pay a carbon tax, over time, from 2008 to 2024." Data: Climate Change in the American Mind, 2024. Refer to the tool and the Methods tab on the website for more information.