Survey: Californians Support GHG Reductions Now

A record-high majority of Californians want the state government to act immediately to reduce greenhouse gas emissions rather than wait for the economy to improve. In the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California’s 13th annual "Californians & the Environment" survey, 65 percent of Californians say the government should act right away to cut emissions — up 9 points since 2012 – while only 30% favor waiting for the economy to improve. Residents express a sense of urgency in responses to another question: Most say it is very important (48%) or somewhat important (31%) that the state government pass regulations and spend money now on efforts to reduce global warming. Most also say it is very (53%) or somewhat (29%) important for the state to pass regulations and spend money now to prepare for global warming’s future effects. A large majority of Californians view global warming as a very serious threat (50%) or somewhat serious threat (27%) to California’s future economy and quality of life. Far fewer say the threat is not too serious (11%) or not at all serious (9%). Most state residents (63%) say the effects of global warming have already begun. Far fewer (22%) say the effects will occur sometime in the future, and 11 percent say they will never happen. Across political parties, most Democrats (73%) and independents (59%, who now constitute ¼ of the electorate), say the effects of warming have begun. Just 38 percent of Republicans express this view, while 30 percent say the effects will occur in the future and 27 percent say they will never happen. Most (60%) continue to favor the idea of California making its own policies, separate from the federal government, to address global warming. A solid majority (67%) continues to support the principle behind the Global Warming Solutions Act, passed in 2006. Also known as AB 32, this law requires the state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. In 2010, there was a sharp partisan divide in opinions, with 80 percent of Democrats and 39 percent of Republicans favoring the law. Today, the gap has narrowed: 77 percent of Democrats and 49 percent of Republicans are in favor. Most Californians don’t view government actions to reduce global warming as a tradeoff between the environment and jobs. Just 24 percent say state action to reduce global warming will result in fewer jobs for state residents, while 45 percent say it will result in more jobs and 21 percent see no effect on jobs. One of California’s signature programs to reduce emissions is the cap-and-trade program, which is administered by the Air Resources Board and includes auctions of emissions allowances that began last November. Most residents (54%) have heard nothing about the program; 33 percent have heard a little and 12 percent a lot. The program’s revenues are being loaned to the state’s general fund this year. In the future, they will be used to further the goals of AB 32, with a portion spent to improve environmental conditions in lower-income or disadvantaged communities. An overwhelming majority say it is very (52%) or somewhat important (31%) to spend the money on these communities, while 15 percent say it is not too important. Many policies to address global warming are being proposed or enacted, at both the state and federal level. The survey, which was taken shortly after President Barack Obama announced his Climate Action Plan, asked about several policy ideas and finds majority support for all of them: Requiring oil companies to produce transportation fuels with lower emissions (81% favor) Requiring industrial plants, oil refineries, and commercial facilities to reduce their emissions (80% favor) Requiring all automakers to further reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases from new cars (80% favor) Requiring an increase in energy efficiency for residential and commercial buildings and appliances (76% favor) Encouraging local governments to change land use and transportation planning so that people could drive less (76% favor) Setting stricter emissions limits on power plants (76% favor) How do Californians assess government efforts to address global warming? A majority of adults (53%) say the federal government is not doing enough. Fewer say state government (44%) and local government (44%) are not doing enough. Asked how they rate elected leaders, 48 percent of California adults approve of the overall job performance of Governor Jerry Brown. A record-high 54 percent of likely voters approve. A July 24 Field Poll found a similar result: 51% approved of the job Jerry Brown is doing as Governor. His rating for handling environmental issues is lower: 39 percent approve in the PPIC survey. The state legislature’s overall approval rating is 36 percent. On environmental issues, the legislature has an approval rating of 38 percent. Asked about renewable sources of energy, 79 percent favor an increase in federal funding to develop wind, solar, and hydrogen technologies. And 70 percent favor a 2011 state law that requires a third of California’s electricity to come from renewable energy sources by 2020. But support drops to 44 percent if this will result in higher electricity bills. The rather apparent conclusion from this blizzard of numbers is that Californians are strongly in support of current climate change policies, and would like to see more. This may appear to be obvious to those outside the state, as it is often perceived as a bastion of Democrats/liberalism. But a closer look at the details of the PPIC survey reveals some partisan details that are even more interesting. When participants were asked: “Officials in the state and federal governments are discussing ways to address global warming. Please tell me if you favor or oppose the following plans to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. How about…?” the responses broke down as follows: All adults Party Likely voters Dem Rep Ind Requiring industrial plants, oil refineries, and commercial facilities to reduce their emissions Favor 80% 93% 64% 77% 78% Oppose 16 6 34 22 19 Don’t know 4 1 2 1 2 Setting stricter emissions limits on power plants Favor 76 85 59 71 73 Oppose 19 11 38 25 23 Don’t know 5 4 3 3 4 The most stunning results are the favorable ratings among Republicans for increasing regulatory control of refineries, commercial facilities, and power plants, a most un-Republican idea generally. When respondents were asked: “Overall, do you think that the … is doing more than enough, just enough, or not enough to address global warming?” their responses were also remarkable: All adults Party Likely voters Dem Rep Ind Federal government More than enough 13% 6% 27% 17% 17% Just enough 27 24 28 25 25 Not enough 53 66 40 56 54 Don’t know 6 4 5 2 4 State government More than enough 15 8 28 18 21 Just enough 35 35 35 34 33 Not enough 44 52 33 44 41 Don’t know 6 5 4 4 5 Local government More than enough 13 6 22 15 16 Just enough 35 36 35 35 39 Not enough 44 51 36 46 38 Don’t know 8 7 7 4 7 Again the surprising result is in the Republican column, where the party who typically opposes government action and wishes a smaller government generally, has a solid plurality for more government action at all levels. Democrats and Independents in California can always be counted on to lean towards support of clean energy and environmental programs. But when it also happens with Republicans, this indicates very strong support for clean energy policies across the board, and perhaps even a tipping point. Further evidence of this can be seen in an op-ed piece appearing in the Aug 1 New York Times written by four former federal EPA Administrators in Republican Administrations, urging climate action. Are we about to enter a golden era for the development of distributed generation and renewable energy? Will it be enough and in time?

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Survey: Californians Support GHG Reductions Now

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