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Public Opinion

The American public strongly support efforts to address climate change, even if measures to do so increase the cost of energy domestically.

American public opinion is important when considering climate change action and viable energy alternatives. Public understanding of the phenomenon and its implications are important considerations as voters choose policy makers and policy makers choose courses of action to enact preventative measures and deal with the ramifications of climate change.

Public attitude surveys yield three major findings. The first is that Americans see climate change as a problem. The second is that the American public wants to see political action on climate change. The third is that Americans are willing to pay to do something about climate change.

According to a poll conducted by NBC News and the Wall Street Journal in 2006, 66% of Americans believed climate change was occurring and required action. This was up 12% from when the question was asked in 1999. In addition, 35% were concerned enough to state that immediate action is needed. In 1999, only 24% of respondents said the same.¹ Similar polling as recent as April 2009, suggests that the trend has not reversed despite the downturn in the economy.² 55% of Americans according to an American Security Project poll believe climate change is a threat to national security.³ Data suggests that growing numbers of Americans believe climate change is a real issue and fewer Americans believe that we should wait for additional information before taking action.

A large majority of Americans also feel the government should do more to deal with climate change. Nearly three fourths of those polled, 72%, think the government should do more now to deal with the effects of climate change. Only 7% of those feel the government should be doing less. In our poll conducted in August of 2009, 60% of Americans strongly supported the government taking action to reduce carbon pollution. In an earlier poll conducted in July of 2009, 58% of Americans believe that climate change should be a higher government priority than it is today.⁴ The American public clearly wants action to meet the climate change challenge.

Some Americans worry about the risk to America's economic competitiveness if the United States takes action alone to reduce carbon emissions while India and China do not. However, 60% of Americans believe the United States should take action even if China and India don't implement similar measures.⁵

While Americans seem ready to do something about climate change, economic factors matter. According to Rasmussen Reports, 21% of Americans are willing to pay $100 more per year for cleaner energy, but only 14% are willing to pay more.⁶ In a similar poll, 56% of people were willing to support a cap and trade program that significantly lowered greenhouse gases, but raised monthly electrical bills by $10. Of note, respondents supporting a cap and trade program dropped to 44% when the cost was raised to $25 per month.⁷ The percentage of those supporting cap and trade programs, also slightly decreased from 2007 to 2008, suggesting that the price people are willing to pay is elastic and sensitive to economic downturns.