Figure 31 Proportion Of Each Group Who Thought The Government Should Either Require Or Give Tax Breaks To Construct More Energy
Increase energy efficiency of buildings. Majorities of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents have consistently favored federal government efforts to improve the energy efficiency of new buildings. In 2020, 86% of Democrats, 61% or Republicans, and 74% of Independents favor this policy option, with a partisan gap of 25 percentage points.
Climate Agreement Is Long
The survey results underscore almost two decades of often unappreciated accord among Americans on various aspects of climate change.
In more than 20 years of surveys by Stanford Universitys Political Psychology Research Group, large majorities of Americans have said global warming is a significant threat and merits government attention. The researchers found that the majority of Americans favor a range of government policies to reduce emissions and oppose policy approaches that seem unlikely to be effective.
A majority of Republicans are actually on what I call the green side of the issue, a huge majority of Democrats are, and a large proportion of Independents, said Jon Krosnick, a professor of political science at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, who has long conducted survey research on attitudes toward climate change.
At the University of Washington in Seattle, Ann Bostrom, a professor of environmental policy, has polled Americans on climate change since the 1990s. Her results show substantial areas of harmony, similar to the Public Agenda/USA TODAY/Ipsos survey.
Theres strong agreement among people across political ideologies in investing in research into renewable energy, according to her research.
Greece: We’re Outta Here
Evacuees on a ferry at the port of Pefki, Euboea they are embarking on a journey into the unknown, as their homes and belongings will probably be destroyed by the time they return. For the first time since the forest fires started on the Greek island of Euboea at the beginning of last week, massive air missions are now being flown to fight the fires. Eyewitnesses report apocalyptic scenes.
The world is burning
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A New Generational Divide
Among Republicans younger than 40, a majority is concerned about the changing climate, opinion polls show. By contrast, 65% of Republican baby boomers have said climate change was not an important concern to them.
This age gap was illustrated in Miami in June, when the ACC held a rally dubbed “the first conservative climate protest in the US.” Speakers had to shout over heckling by a group of older men who waved signs reading: “There is no climate crisis.”
ACC head Benji Backer met with Miami Mayor Francis Suarez at the ‘first-ever conservative climate rally’ in June
Staunch climate denial is still seen in the rhetoric of Republican lawmakers, too. When large parts of Texas lost power in frigid weather last winter, Republican Governor Greg Abbott falsely blamed solar and wind energy. And when President Joe Biden announced his goal of cutting greenhouse emissions in half at a climate summit earlier this year, some Republicans and right-wing media stoked resistance by spreading misinformation suggesting the president planned to restrict meat consumption.
Democrats And Republicans Divided On Climate Change
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat from New York, speaks as Senator Ed Markey, a… Democrat from Massachusetts, right, listens during a news conference announcing Green New Deal legislation in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, Feb. 7, 2019. Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg
How serious an issue is climate change and what should be done about it? It is not surprising that Democrats and Republicans have different views about these questions as they do about so many issues today. But what is significant now is the depth of their differences on climate change and how much those differences have grown over time. In the April issue of AEIs Political Report, we examined partisans views in recent polls and trends.
When Quinnipiac University asked registered voters in December 2018 about the extreme weather events over the past few years, 90% of Democrats and 24% of Republicans said they were related to climate change. In a similar question asked by Economist/YouGov pollstersin March 2019, 76% of Democrats said the severity of recent weather events were the result of climate change, compared to 17% of Republicans. Seventy-four percent of Republicans said these kinds of events just happen from time to time.
And what about the Green New Deal? In the limited number of polls that we have at this point, most Americans are not very familiar with it. Among those who have an opinion, Democrats are more positive than Republicans.
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Strong Bipartisan Support For Expanding Solar Wind Energy Production
One spot of unity in an otherwise divided environmental policy landscape is that the vast majority of Americans support the concept of expanding both solar and wind power. The public is more closely divided when it comes to expanding fossil fuel energies such as coal mining, offshore oil and gas drilling, and hydraulic fracturing for oil and natural gas. While there are substantial party and ideological divides over increasing fossil fuel and nuclear energy sources, strong majorities of all political groups support more solar and wind production.
These patterns are broadly consistent with past Center findings that climate change and fossil fuel energy issues are strongly linked with party and ideology, but political divisions have a much more modest or no relationship with public attitudes on a host of other science-related topics.
Boom for home solar ahead?
Some 41% of Americans say they have given serious consideration to installing solar panels at home . Their reasons include both cost savings and help for the environment. A similar share of homeowners have either installed solar panels or given serious thought to doing so . Western residents and younger adults are especially likely to say they have considered, or already installed, solar panels at home. Two-thirds of homeowners in the West have considered or installed solar panels, compared with 35% of homeowners in the South, 40% in the Midwest and 38% in the Northeast.
Red New Deal Gop Offers A Climate Plan Of Its Own
By Nick Sobczyk | 11/04/2021 05:26 AM EST
Sen. John Kennedy reading a board yesterday with details of a GOP energy and climate plan. Francis Chung/E& E News
Senate Republicans want to fight climate change by burning more fossil fuels.
As world leaders gather in Glasgow, Scotland, to offer plans to hit net-zero greenhouse emissions at United Nations climate talks, several GOP senators gathered yesterday to announce their own broad vision for energy policy focused on boosting natural gas production and exports to achieve marginal global carbon reductions from fuel switching and lowered life cycle emissions.
We have an opportunity with our allies and with our technologies, I think, to set a different goal than simply lets get America to zero, lets unilaterally disarm the American economy by just getting to zero and then let China do what they do, Sen. Kevin Cramer told reporters.
The plan, led by Cramer and Sens. Dan Sullivan and Cynthia Lummis , would aim to reduce global emissions 40 percent by 2050 compared to current levels. It would involve expanding natural gas, nuclear power and carbon capture, building out critical minerals supply chains and reforming the National Environmental Policy Act all ideas Republicans have supported for years.
Republicans, however, stressed that theyre not setting a global temperature target. They instead set themselves in opposition to President Bidens goal of reducing U.S. emissions 50 to 52 percent under 2005 levels by 2030.
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Figure 10 Party Breakdown Of Opinions On Federal Stimulus Policies On Which The Majorities Of Democrats And Of Republicans Disagree
Majorities of Democrats and minorities of Republicans favor three policies put into place by President Obama that have been rolled back by President Trump: a mandate to power plants to cut carbon emissions from the electric sector by more than 30% relative to 2005 levels a plan for the federal government to reduce its own emissions and a mandate to increase fuel efficiency standards of all new cars and trucks made in the United States to get at least 55 miles per gallon by 2025.
Republicans In Congress: Ready To Lead With Climate Change Solutions
Conservative Republicans are hearing from their constituents about the impacts of climate change. They are ready to lead with conservative solutions.
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The climate is changing, and we, collectively, have a responsibility to do something about it.
Sen. John BarrassoR-WY
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I’m a Republican who believes the greenhouse gas effect is real, that climate change is being affected by manmade behavior.
Sen. Lindsey GrahamR-SC
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There’s no question that were experiencing climate change and that humans are a significant contributor.
Sen. Mitt RomneyR-UT
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Im not afraid to talk about climate change. Were obviously pumping more CO2 into the air, and theres a thing called the greenhouse effect.
Sen. Mike BraunR-IN
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There is a growing consensus the days of ignoring this issue are over.
Sen. John CornynR-TX
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The Challenging Politics Of Climate Change
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We dont really worry about climate change because its too overwhelming and were already in too deep. Its like if you owe your bookie $1,000, youre like, OK, Ive got to pay this dude back. But if you owe your bookie $1 million dollars, youre like, I guess Im just going to die.
Colin Jost, Saturday Night Live, 10/13/18
The above quote is from a Saturday Night Live skit on the weekend following release of a report from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The report was one of the most dramatic ones yet, predicting that some of the most severe social and economic damage from the rise in global temperatures could come as soon at 2040. And yet, two comedians, Colin Jost and Michael Che, summed up the difficult politics of the issue in less than three minutes. You dont have to be a climate denier to be, in the end, indifferent to the issue.
Most Americans Favor Expanding Renewable Energy Sources But Divides Remain Over Expanding Offshore Drilling Nuclear Power
Most Americans favor expanding solar power or wind power , including strong majorities of both Republicans and Democrats. The public, however, is evenly divided over whether to expand nuclear power . Fewer than half of Americans support more offshore oil and gas drilling , hydraulic fracturing for oil and natural gas, known as âfrackingâ or coal mining .
These findings are broadly in line with previous Center surveys, which found strong majorities in favor of increasing solar or wind power and more mixed views about expanding other energy sources. Support for more nuclear power plants has inched up 6 percentage points since 2016 . Support for coal mining has declined from 41% to 35% in the same period.
Sizable majorities of both Republicans and Democrats â including those who lean to each party â favor more solar panel farms or wind turbine farms . More Republicans than Democrats support expanding nuclear power plants support for nuclear power is stronger among conservative Republicans than among moderate or liberal Republicans .
Conservative Republicans also stand out as more inclined to support expansion of hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas as well as coal mining . By comparison, fewer than half of moderate or liberal Republicans favor expanding these energy sources .
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How Americans View The Impact Of Climate Change Depends On Where They Live
Most Americans today say that climate change is affecting their local community either a great deal or some. That figure remains fairly steady from last year, when 59% reported at least some local effects of climate change.
The vast majority of this group says long periods of unusually hot weather represent a major local impact of climate change. They also say major effects include severe weather such as floods and intense storms , harm to animal wildlife and their habitats , damage to forests and plant life or droughts and water shortages . More frequent wildfires and rising sea levels that erode beaches and shorelines also are cited by equal percentages as major impacts to their local communities.
The degree to which Americans report experiencing effects of climate change in their local community varies by geographic region. Americans in Pacific states are most likely to see at least some local impacts of climate change . By comparison, 54% of those living in Mountain states say climate change is affecting their local area at least some.
Large shares of Americans nationwide who report at least some local impact of climate change cite long periods of unusually hot weather as occurring where they live. Other major effects of climate change, however, tend to vary by region.
A partisan lens also plays a role in these perceptions. Democrats and Democratic leaners are more likely than Republicans to report at least some effects of climate change on their local communities.1
How Is The Fight Against Climate Change Conservative
Through policies that avoid big government overreach, CCL advocates for legislation that spurs the economy, makes the country economically competitive, aids the military, provides resources to agriculture, and preserves the great American outdoors.
CCLs current goal of passing a carbon price would charge a fee to polluters who are destroying Americas land and waterways, and return that fee to hard-working American middle class and lower-income families in the form of a dividend, or cashback. This price on carbon bolsters Americas economy by ensuring fair international trade with countries that already have a carbon price, such as Russia, China, and the European Union.
Additionally, the fight against climate change exhibits care for divine creation, while ensuring a viable, long life for all of Gods creatures.
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Turkey: Threatened Residential Areas
Besides Greece and Italy, Turkey is also struggling with devastating fires. Walls of fire are spreading from the forests to residential areas. On this photo, Turkish firefighters are trying to stop a blaze near Cokertme that threatens to spread into buildings. More than 150,000 hectares including entire villages have already fallen victim to the flames in Turkey.
The world is burning
Gop Governors Confront Rising Sea Levels And Wildfires: Were Not Doing Any Left
MIAMIFlorida Gov. Ron DeSantis visited the coastal city of Oldsmar recently to unveil projects including sea walls and drainage systems intended to address flooding. The state is seeing rising sea levels, and Floridas environmental and economic successes are intertwined, Mr. DeSantis and other speakers said.
The Republican governor, unlike many of his Democratic counterparts, didnt use the term climate change or endorse specific policies aimed at combating factors that most climate scientists say are driving warming, such as greenhouse-gas emissions. He focused on responding to the effects of a warming climate.
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Republicans And Democrats In Different Worlds On Climate Change
RESEARCH Public Opinion Survey
As President Biden heads to the UN Climate Change Conference, he will grapple with significant divides in domestic public opinion.
On October 31, world leaders and climate experts will gather in Glasgow, Scotland, for the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26. These meetings represent a much-anticipated opportunity for countries to coordinate action to decelerate climate change and mitigate its devastating effects. While US President Joseph Biden has vowed to make climate issues a priority for his administration, his ability to deliver in Glasgow will depend in large part on politics at home. The 2021 Chicago Council Survey data indicate that the administration will grapple with significant partisan divisions not only in Congress but also among the American public. Along with immigration, climate change is consistently one of the most starkly polarizing American foreign policy issues.
Figure 29 Proportion Of Each Group Who Favored The Federal Government Giving Companies Tax Breaks To Produce More Electricity From Water Wind And Solar Power
Reduce emission by power plants. Majorities of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents have consistently favored federal government efforts to lower the amount of greenhouse gases produced by power plants. In 2020, 92% of Democrats, 64% of Republicans, and 81% of Independents favor this policy, with a partisan gap of 28 percentage points .
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Figure 18 Proportion Of Each Group Who Believed The Worlds Temperature Has Probably Been Increasing Over The Past 100 Years
Global warming has been caused mostly or partly by humans. Since 1997, majorities of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents have believed that, if the worlds temperature has increased over the past 100 years, warming has been caused at least partly by humans. In 2020, 94% of Democrats reported belief that increases in global temperature were caused mostly or partly by human activitiesthe highest level of consensus for Democrats. Independents and Republicans also manifest high levels in 2020, although not record highs: 80% of Independents and 69% of Republicans believe that global warming has been attributable to human activities. And again, no notable growth in the partisan gap has occurred since 2011.
Conservatives And Climate Change
Jim Manzi& Peter Wehner
Summer 2015
The political debate over climate change has long resembled a contest to see which party can discredit itself more. Liberals have seized upon outlandishly improbable climate scenarios to urge drastic and immediate action. Former vice president Al Gore, a leading liberal voice on the subject, has compared global warming to “an asteroid colliding with the Earth and wreaking havoc.” “Our food systems, our cities, our people and our very way of life developed within a stable range of climatic conditions on Earth,” Gore has written. “Without immediate and decisive action, these favorable conditions on Earth could become a memory if we continue to make the climate crisis worse day after day after day.”
Many more Republicans are uncomfortable making accusations of corruption and conspiracy against so much of the scientific community, but they too have struggled to sustain an untenable position. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, House speaker John Boehner, presidential candidates Bobby Jindal and Marco Rubio, and rising star Senator Joni Ernst have all adopted the new talking point on the issue: “I’m not a scientist.” This is an attempt to invoke ignorance in order to avoid embarrassment.
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM CLIMATE CHANGE
CONFRONTING WORST CASES
THE ENERGY INNOVATION EXAMPLE
TECHNOLOGY, NOT TAXES
Jim Manzi is a software entrepreneur and a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute.
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