Public Support for Climate and Energy Policies in April 2013

The report finds that while a majority of Americans believe clean energy and global warming should be priorities for the U.S. government, support for specific policies varies. High support exists for renewable energy research and tax rebates for energy-efficient products, while revenue-neutral carbon taxes see limited support. Partisan divides are significant, particularly regarding the Keystone XL pipeline and the priority level assigned to global warming.

• A large majority of Americans believe the U.S. government should prioritize clean energy and global warming, though support for global warming as a priority has declined slightly since Fall 2012. Specifically, 87% say developing clean energy should be a "very high", "high", or medium priority, and 70% say the same for global warming.
• Most Americans support U.S. action on greenhouse gas emissions regardless of other nations' actions, and 84% support efforts to reduce global warming even if they incur economic costs.
• Public opinion identifies corporations and industry (70%) and citizens themselves (63%) as the entities that should do the most to address global warming, more so than the U.S. Congress (57%) or the President (52%).
• Majorities of Americans support several specific policies, including tax rebates for energy-efficient vehicles or solar panels (71%), renewable energy research funding (70%), and regulating CO2 as a pollutant (68%). However, support for these policies has generally declined since 2008.
• There is limited support for a revenue-neutral carbon tax swap. Fewer than half of respondents support such a tax whether the funds are used to reduce federal income tax (45%), reduce federal payroll tax (44%), or provide household tax refunds (43%).
• Public awareness of the Keystone XL pipeline is low, with 50% of Americans having never heard of it. Among those aware of the project, 63% support its construction.
• Significant partisan divides exist regarding climate priorities and policies. For example, 59% of Democrats view global warming as a high or very high priority compared to 22% of Republicans. Additionally, 91% of Republicans who know of the Keystone XL pipeline support it, while 64% of Democrats who know of it oppose it.

APA

Center for Climate Change Communication (2013). Public Support for Climate and Energy Policies in April 2013. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/April-2013-Public-Support-for-Climate-and-Energy-Policies-2013.pdf

Chicago

Center for Climate Change Communication. Public Support for Climate and Energy Policies in April 2013. 2013. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/April-2013-Public-Support-for-Climate-and-Energy-Policies-2013.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Center for Climate Change Communication |title=Public Support for Climate and Energy Policies in April 2013 |date=April 2013 |url=https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/April-2013-Public-Support-for-Climate-and-Energy-Policies-2013.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centerforclimatechangecommunication2013public, author = {{Center for Climate Change Communication}}, title = {{Public Support for Climate and Energy Policies in April 2013}}, institution = {Center for Climate Change Communication}, year = {2013}, month = apr, url = {https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/April-2013-Public-Support-for-Climate-and-Energy-Policies-2013.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }