Dive Brief:
- A recent poll in Arizona, Georgia and Michigan reveals that, generally speaking “people are not willing to pay more for goods and services that produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions,” according to the Conservative Coalition for Climate Solutions, a free-market oriented climate group, also known as C3 Action.
- Some 53% of Republicans reported that they are unwilling to pay more, compared with 29% of Democrats. The survey, conducted by C|T Group, polled 1,500 voting-age respondents.
- The poll shows Republican candidates can embrace climate change policies that “strengthen our economy and environment,” C3 Action Executive Director John Hart said in a statement. The poll found 71% of Republicans and 63% of Democrats support a “diversified energy policy” that includes fossil fuels, nuclear energy and renewables.
Dive Insight:
Republicans increasingly believe climate change is real, but almost a third say it is the result of Earth's natural environment – and a majority are unwilling to pay more to combat it, at least in the three states surveyed.
C|T Group’s poll showed 14% of Republicans believe climate change “is not happening,” while 30% say it is – but humans are not the cause. Just 4% of Democrats say climate change is not happening while 17% say it is naturally caused.
“Climate change will increasingly shape American and global politics in 2022, 2024 and beyond,” Hart said. “Our poll indicates a strong bipartisan consensus exists around an ‘all of the above’ fiscally responsible energy diversification agenda.”
But the poll illustrates there are limits on what respondents will pay to combat climate change.
“On the whole, people are not willing to pay more for goods and services that produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions and are even more reluctant to pay a significant amount more,” the poll concludes.
The survey asked how much additional money respondents were willing to pay for goods and services that produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions. More than half of Republican respondents said they were unwilling to pay more, while 30% said they would pay an additional $10 per month. Some 29% of Democrats said they were unwilling to pay more, and 41% said they would pay an additional $10 per month.
About a quarter of Democrats said they were willing to pay up to $100 more per month, compared with 14% of Republicans. Only 4-5% of respondents were willing to pay more than that.
