Public Support for Climate and Energy Policies in November 2013

The report finds that while global warming is not a top national priority for most Americans, there is broad support for specific clean energy policies, such as renewable energy research and tax rebates for energy-efficient vehicles. However, confidence in government's ability to address the issue remains low, and significant polarization exists between political parties and different psychological segments of the population.

• Global warming is not among the top three national issue priorities for Americans, which are the economy, health care, and the federal budget deficit. It ranks 11th out of 13 measured issues, though 71% of Americans consider it at least a "medium" priority.
• A majority of Americans believe that corporations and industry (65%), citizens (61%), and the U.S. Congress (52%) should do more to address global warming, while 46% believe President Obama should do more.
• There is strong general support for U.S. action on climate change: 60% believe the U.S. should reduce greenhouse gas emissions regardless of other countries' actions, and 83% support efforts to reduce global warming even if there are economic costs.
• Americans support several specific clean energy policies, including funding renewable energy research (72%), tax rebates for energy-efficient vehicles or solar panels (71%), and regulating CO2 as a pollutant (67%).
• Support for setting CO2 emission limits on coal-fired power plants decreases when the policy is explicitly linked to President Obama and the EPA; support drops from 63% to 59%, and strong opposition increases from 13% to 21%.
• Public support for a carbon tax is limited. Only 43% support a carbon tax on fossil fuel companies if it costs the average household $180 per year. Support for a revenue-neutral tax swap is slightly higher, ranging from 45% to 49% depending on whether it reduces payroll, income, or provides a household refund.
• Confidence in government's ability to mitigate global warming is low, with only 39% confident that federal or state/local policies can help reduce global warming, and 36-37% confident they can protect communities from its impacts.
• Political polarization is evident: 57% of Democrats view global warming as a high or very high priority, compared to 19% of Republicans and 25% of Independents. However, both parties show support for renewable energy research and CO2 regulation.
• The 'Six Americas' segmentation reveals that the 'Alarmed' group (16% of the population) is the most likely to support climate policies and engage in political activism, while the 'Dismissive' group (15%) is the most opposed to action and most likely to support eliminating renewable energy subsidies.

APA

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

Chicago

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

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Center for Climate Change Communication |title=Public Support for Climate and Energy Policies in November 2013 |date=November 2013 |url=https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Nov.-2013-Public-Support-for-Climate-and-Energy-Policies.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 November 2013}}, institution = {Center for Climate Change Communication}, year = {2013}, month = nov, url = {https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Nov.-2013-Public-Support-for-Climate-and-Energy-Policies.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }