A new national survey from the Sierra Club conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research shows strong support for EPA to limit carbon pollution from power plants. The national poll surveyed 1,000 registered voters across the country from Jan. 11-20 and also found strong support among voters for moving away from coal and other dirty fuels and a preference for investing in clean energy.
“Americans want to cut their ties to dirty fuels and instead power their country with 100 percent clean energy,” said Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune. “These poll results should send a clear message to President Obama and the EPA that they must look beyond an ‘all of the above’ energy policy and completely replace dirty fuels with clean energy.”
By nearly a 2-to-1 margin, voters think the country should be investing more in clean energy sources and energy efficiency rather than in fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas (61 percent clean energy vs. 33 percent traditional sources). A majority of voters (51 percent) “strongly" prefers investing in clean energy. Support is even higher among African-American voters (77 percent) and Latino voters (71 percent).
“Voters overwhelmingly want to see the country move away from fossil fuels and toward clean energy, and they believe the government should be taking more action to combat climate disruption,” said Andrew Baumann, vice president of Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research. “As a result, they show very strong support for new EPA limits on carbon pollution from power plants."
Other findings include:
- A strong majority of voters (58 percent) favor the United States setting national goals to move away from coal and other fossil fuels and replace them with clean, renewable sources by the year 2030 - this includes 57 percent who favor moving "entirely away from coal," and 59 percent who favor moving entirely away from “fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas.”
- Two-in-three U.S. voters say the issue of climate disruption is a serious problem.
- The majority of voters (56 percent) believe that the government already limits the amount of carbon pollution that power plants can release, which the government currently does not.
- When presented with President Obama’s climate plan and the proposed EPA limits on carbon pollution from power plants, seven in 10 Americans favor the EPA putting limits on the amount of carbon pollution that power plants can release.
“Dirty power plants are a threat to our health and our climate, and Americans are ready for the EPA to protect them from power plant pollution,” said Mary Anne Hitt, director of the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign. “President Obama and the EPA have the public support they need to ensure pending carbon pollution standards for power plants are strong enough to protect our families.”