By Jeff Luse
On Thursday the Conservative Energy Network and The Conservation Coalition discussed new data from Public Opinion Strategies titled “New Poll Gauges Voter Attitudes on Clean Energy, Climate Policy.”
You can access the polling data here.
New polling data shows that climate change is an important issue among GOP voters. When asked if the issue of climate change is important to their vote, 55 percent of GOP respondents said “yes.” Younger voters were even more enthusiastic. Sixty-eight percent of respondents aged 18-54 responded “yes.”
This data didn’t surprise Quill Robinson of The Conservation Coalition. “We’ve seen a shift in the center of gravity on the issue of climate change in the Republican party over the last year,” Robinson said.
Robinson added that Republican voters had more of an appetite to address climate change than the Republican establishment, which is something he believes the national party needs to address.
GOP voters also wanted to see more aggressive leadership from President Trump on climate change: 69% of respondents polled said they would have a more favorable view of President Trump if he prioritized addressing climate change and clean energy by prioritizing technology innovation.
The responses also showed that voters want the United States to emphasize solar, wind, hydropower, natural gas in its domestic energy production. Furthermore, 59% of respondents said that they prefer a free market approach that allows markets and businesses to provide more clean energy production.
These are areas that Republicans can deliver on through energy innovation, empowering markets, and an “all of the above” energy approach. As Mark Pischea of Conservative Energy Network noted, “you can embrace clean energy without comprising your conservative principles … This is an area that is ripe with opportunity for Republicans and smart Republicans will acknowledge the need to embrace a solution to clean energy and climate.”
You can see a discussion of the results here.
The views and opinions expressed are those of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of C3.
