public support for climate and energy policies in april 2013

The report finds that while a majority of Americans prioritize clean energy and global warming action, support for specific policies has declined since 2008. There is strong support for renewable energy research and tax rebates for energy-efficient products, but limited support for revenue-neutral carbon taxes. Significant partisan divides exist, particularly regarding the Keystone XL pipeline and the priority level of global warming.

• A large majority of Americans believe the president and Congress should prioritize clean energy and global warming, although these priorities have seen a slight decrease. Specifically, 87% view developing clean energy as a medium to very high priority, and 70% view global warming as a medium to very high priority.
• Most Americans support U.S. efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and global warming regardless of other countries' actions or the associated economic costs. 59% believe the U.S. should reduce emissions regardless of other countries, and 84% support efforts to reduce global warming even if there are economic costs.
• Public opinion on who should address global warming identifies corporations and industry (70%) and citizens themselves (63%) as the primary actors who should be doing more, followed by Congress (57%) and the president (52%).
• Americans show majority support for 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 public support for a revenue-neutral carbon tax swap. Fewer than half of Americans support such a tax even if the revenue is used to reduce federal income tax (45%), reduce federal payroll tax (44%), or provide a tax refund to households (43%).
• Public awareness and support for the Keystone XL pipeline are split. Half of Americans have heard of the project, and among those who have, 63% support its construction while 37% oppose it.
• Political affiliation strongly influences views on climate priorities and specific policies. Democrats are significantly more likely to view global warming as a high priority (59%) compared to Republicans (22%). While both parties support renewable energy research and CO2 regulation, they diverge sharply on offshore drilling and the Keystone XL pipeline, which 91% of Republicans who have heard of it support and 63% of Democrats who have heard of it oppose.

APA

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (2013). public support for climate and energy policies in april 2013. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2016/02/2013_05_Public-Support-for-Climate-Energy-Policies-in-April-2013.pdf

Chicago

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. public support for climate and energy policies in april 2013. 2013. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2016/02/2013_05_Public-Support-for-Climate-Energy-Policies-in-April-2013.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Yale Program on Climate Change Communication |title=public support for climate and energy policies in april 2013 |date=April 2013 |url=https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2016/02/2013_05_Public-Support-for-Climate-Energy-Policies-in-April-2013.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{yaleprogramonclimatechangecommunication2013public, author = {{Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}}, title = {{public support for climate and energy policies in april 2013}}, institution = {Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}, year = {2013}, month = apr, url = {https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2016/02/2013_05_Public-Support-for-Climate-Energy-Policies-in-April-2013.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }