KEY TAKEAWAYS

Emphasizing manufacturing and “made in America” provisions helps to broaden support for the Inflation Reduction Act and the clean energy transition. Data for Progress finds robust support for the Inflation Reduction Act’s core climate and clean energy provisions a year after the bill’s passage, with particularly high bipartisan support for policies that boost U.S. manufacturing and American-made clean energy technologies. These findings are consistent with other polling on the topic, which has shown that emphasizing energy independence and the revitalization of American manufacturing helps to expand support for the clean energy transition - particularly with conservative audiences that can otherwise be skeptical of the transition.

We’re continuing to see a summer spike in the salience of climate change. Polling by The Economist and YouGov this summer has shown a gradual rise in the percentage of Americans who say that they’ve personally felt the impacts of climate change, and we tend to see an increase in climate concern during the hotter months when the effects of climate change are more readily apparent to everyday people. The challenge for climate advocates is to make the link between climate change and extreme weather like heat waves more intuitive for the public, both so that people more readily see climate change as a factor when they’re experiencing extreme weather and to make sure the association holds up during months when people don’t feel as directly impacted.

GOOD DATA POINTS TO HIGHLIGHT

[Inflation Reduction Act] Voters support the Inflation Reduction Act by a 65%-22% margin after reading a brief description of it [Navigator]

[Inflation Reduction Act] 80% of voters support the Inflation Reduction Act’s standards to ensure that businesses receiving government clean energy tax credits pay their workers a fair wage and make their goods in America [Data for Progress]

[Inflation Reduction Act] 73% of voters support the Inflation Reduction Act’s provision to ramp up production of American-made clean energy technologies to strengthen our energy supply chains and manufacturing industries [Data for Progress]

[Inflation Reduction Act] 73% of voters support the Inflation Reduction Act’s penalties for oil and gas companies that are found to have pumped out excess methane gas pollution into the air [Data for Progress]

[Inflation Reduction Act] 71% of voters support the Inflation Reduction Act’s investments to reduce pollution and improve public health in disadvantaged communities that are disproportionately impacted by climate change [Data for Progress]

[Inflation Reduction Act] 70% of voters support the Inflation Reduction Act’s provision of up to $14,000 in rebates on home energy efficiency investments per household that save families money and help reduce reliance on fossil fuels [Data for Progress]

[Inflation Reduction Act] 69% of voters support the Inflation Reduction Act’s tax credits for businesses that produce clean electricity such as solar and wind power, electric vehicles, and other new clean energy technologies [Data for Progress]

[Climate Change] 58% of Americans recognize that the world’s climate is changing as a result of human activity [The Economist + YouGov]

[Climate Change] 52% of Americans say that they have personally felt the effects of climate change [The Economist + YouGov]

[Issue Priority] More Americans name climate change and the environment as the single “most important issue” to them than any other issue aside from inflation/prices, health care, and the economy/jobs [The Economist + YouGov]

Weekly Environmental Polling Roundup8/18/23

Weekly Environmental Polling Roundup
8/18/23