Aug 2, 2017
What Democrats, Republicans and the world think about climate change
An iceberg melting in Kulusuk, Greenland near the arctic circle. John Mcconnico / AP
Yale and George Mason universities issued their latest polling results Wednesday morning from their series of detailed climate surveys.
Why it matters: The voter data will provide political ammunition for advocates of emissions curbs and thwarting the White House push for deep cuts in green energy R&D.
Science:
- 56% of registered voters agree that global warming is caused mostly by human activity, which is consistent with their 2016 polling.
- But the partisan divide is stark. 45% of liberal/moderate Republicans hold that view (a nine point dip since November) and 30% of conservative Republicans do, compared to 87% and 62% for liberal and moderate Dems, respectively.
National concern:
- 55% are very or somewhat worried about global warming, which is seven points less than the pollsters found in 2008, and again, there's a big party split.
Policy:
- 74% want more action from corporations and industry, including 56% of Republicans. 63% want Congress to do more and 61% want Trump to take more action, but only around a third of GOP voters have that view, compared to an overwhelming share of Dems.
- 69% support strict limits on carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants, 70% support requiring fossil fuel companies to pay a carbon tax paired with cutting other taxes (like income taxes). Two-thirds of independents and slightly under half of Republicans polled back those policies.
- There's strong support across party lines for greater funding for renewables R&D and tax rebates for buying efficient cars and solar panels.