Large Majority of U.S. Voters Supports CO2 Limits and Renewable Energy

Seven in 10 American voters believe that the U.S. should participate in international efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new survey conducted by Yale University and George Mason University. The survey, which polled more than 1,200 people nationally shortly after the November election, also found that 62 percent and 63 percent of voters want President-elect Donald Trump and Congress to do more to address climate change, respectively. Only 10 percent of Americans oppose taxing or regulating greenhouse gas emissions, while 70 percent support limiting CO2 emissions from coal-fired power plants — the primary aim of the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan — even if it raises the cost of electricity. Eighty-five percent of Democrats and 76 percent of Republicans think the U.S. should use more renewable energy, and more than 71 percent of polled voters believe the federal government should do more to prepare for the impacts of climate change.