Exploring Support for Climate Justice Policies in the United States

The report finds strong and broad public support across demographic and political lines for climate justice policies in the United States. A majority of Americans support transitioning to 100% clean energy by 2050, increasing funding for disproportionately harmed low-income communities and communities of color, and creating jobs programs to transition workers from the fossil fuel industry.

• A significant majority of the U.S. public supports a full transition to clean energy, with 70% of people supporting the shift of the U.S. economy—including industry, buildings, transportation, and electric utilities—from fossil fuels to 100% clean energy by 2050.
• There is strong support for targeted investments in marginalized communities: 68% of Americans support increased funding for communities of color and low-income communities disproportionately affected by water and air pollution, and 79% support federal funding to improve energy efficiency in residential buildings within low-income communities.
• Public opinion favors clean energy over fossil fuels regarding employment, with 61% believing clean energy production will create more new jobs than fossil fuel production. High levels of support (over 80%) exist for specific jobs programs, including re-establishing the Civilian Conservation Corps (83%), hiring unemployed oil and gas workers to close abandoned wells (81%), and hiring unemployed coal workers to close old mines and restore landscapes (81%).
• Support for climate justice policies is widespread across demographic groups, though it is consistently higher among non-white racial groups, including Black and Hispanic/Latino respondents. Support is high across all age groups and education levels, and while Democrats show higher support than Republicans, majorities of Republicans still support policies for climate-friendly jobs and energy efficiency in low-income communities.

APA

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (2022). Exploring Support for Climate Justice Policies in the United States. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/exploring-support-for-climate-justice-policies-in-the-united-states/

Chicago

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. Exploring Support for Climate Justice Policies in the United States. 2022. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/exploring-support-for-climate-justice-policies-in-the-united-states/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Yale Program on Climate Change Communication |title=Exploring Support for Climate Justice Policies in the United States |date=4 August 2022 |url=https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/exploring-support-for-climate-justice-policies-in-the-united-states/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{yaleprogramonclimatechangecommunication2022exploring, author = {{Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}}, title = {{Exploring Support for Climate Justice Policies in the United States}}, institution = {Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}, year = {2022}, month = aug, url = {https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/exploring-support-for-climate-justice-policies-in-the-united-states/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }