Once voters learn a bit about this landmark law, however, a large majority support it.

These findings are from a survey of U.S. registered voters, conducted jointly by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (the publisher of this site) and the Center for Climate Change Communication at George Mason University.

In the nationally representative survey, participants were first asked if they’d heard about the Inflation Reduction Act. Only 39% of participants said they’d heard either “a lot” or “some” information about it. Surprisingly, the number of people who had heard about the law remains unchanged from one year ago, even as the legislation has begun to spur a surge in U.S. manufacturing of batteries, solar panels and automobiles – and has helped consumers make energy-saving purchases.

Next, survey participants read a short description of the Inflation Reduction Act:

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) aims to curb inflation by reducing the federal deficit, lowering prescription drug prices and the cost of health insurance, modernizing the Internal Revenue Service, and investing in U.S. clean energy production. The law authorizes $391 billion for developing clean energy and addressing global warming, including tax incentives and rebates to help consumers and businesses buy energy-efficient appliances, solar panels, electric vehicles, etc. The IRA also includes support for clean energy jobs and investments in communities that are most harmed by air and water pollution. It is the largest investment the U.S. government has ever made to reduce global warming, and it is projected to help the U.S. reduce its carbon pollution 40% by 2030. The law will be paid for by closing tax loopholes.

After reading a summary of the law, about three-quarters of surveyed voters (74%) said they support it. In other words, voters haven’t heard much about this policy, but when they do, they like it. (It’s possible that some voters have heard about the benefits of the IRA but didn’t attribute them to the law.)

Republicans are divided on the Inflation Reduction Act

In today’s political environment, voters’ opinions on just about everything hinge on their political worldview, and that’s been especially true with climate and energy. But the survey results show an atypical divide.

In this case, it’s Republicans who are split. Like Democrats, moderate and liberal Republicans are largely supportive of the Inflation Reduction Act, with seven out of 10 moderate and liberal Republicans expressing a favourable opinion of it. This number has grown by 13 percentage points over the past year. Conservative Republicans are a notable outlier, with just 30% supporting the law.

RELATED:

With Inflation Reduction Act, U.S. is on the cusp of ‘biggest economic revolution’ in generations

Politicians think climate policies are much less popular than they actually are

How a small city in Georgia became a solar manufacturing hub

Despite the intraparty split in the GOP, the cluster of data points near the top of this graph shows that much of the public is already on board with measures to cut climate pollution and save energy.

The law is helping to boost American manufacturing and energy innovation and has been especially beneficial to red states. In 2023, more than 3.4 million U.S. households took advantage of tax credits for energy efficiency and residential clean energy, totalling $8.4 billion in savings for consumers. Other results from the survey show that these elements of the Inflation Reduction Act enjoy solid bipartisan support.

The findings could be a boost to policy-makers, communicators, advocates and regular people who want to help spread the word about the benefits of investing in modern energy and preparing for a climate-changed world – and how these measures are helping people and communities.

Solving climate change is hard, but it’s a lot easier when it’s popular.

This article by Yale Climate Connections is published here as part of the global journalism collaboration Covering Climate Now. It has been edited to conform with Corporate Knights style.

The post U.S. voters are all in on climate policy – even if they don’t know it appeared first on Corporate Knights.

After four years of Donald Trump’s coal and fracking cronies, U.S. environmental groups were elated that progressive, professional experts were taking back government.

Sure, there was a jolt of concern in mid-November when Biden appointed Louisiana Congressman Cedric Richmond as incoming director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, with special responsibility for climate issues and the pandemic. The 12-year congressman earned a reputation as a climate conservative, supporting fossil-fuel exports and offshore drilling while opposing efforts to tighten regulations on fracking and the disposal of toxic coal ash.

But Biden went on to make better choices. In December, he appointed former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Gina McCarthy, a key architect of the Paris Agreement, to run a new White House office on climate change. As president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, McCarthy sued the Trump administration more than 100 times over its attempts to ease environmental regulations.

And then there’s Michael Regan, Biden’s popular pick as the new EPA head. Regan began his career as an air-quality specialist with the EPA. He then spent eight years at the Environmental Defense Fund, an advocacy organization best known for championing early bans on whaling, leaded gasoline and hazardous chemicals such as CFCs.

For the past four years, Regan was an activist secretary of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality. Inheriting a dispirited department that was defanged by a previous Republican administration (sound familiar?), Regan tightened regulations and signed significant mitigation deals with chemical and energy companies. “Michael Regan will be exactly the kind of administrator that the EPA needs to fix the damage that was done under four years of Trump and tackle the climate and health crisis facing Americans,” said Jeremy Symons, an environmental consultant who worked with Regan at Environmental Defense.

As the first Black person to run the EPA, Regan will also focus on environmental and economic justice. On his appointment he announced, “We will be driven by our convictions that every person in our great country has the right to clean air, clean water and a healthier life, no matter how much money they have in their pockets, the color of their skin or the community that they live in.”

Given the Trump-inspired insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, this message can’t can’t be emphasized enough. A divided America needs healing. A job-creating green revolution will boost the economy, put the U.S. on a more sustainable track and promote social justice.

Canadians accustomed to the Trudeau Liberals’ lukewarm embrace of climate policies have spent four years worrying about America’s rejection of the environmental crisis. Now, armed with a committed cabinet and an unexpected (albeit slim) majority in the Senate, the 78-year-old Biden may soon challenge Canada to keep up.

The post Biden sets new pace in climate race appeared first on Corporate Knights.