By Bill Loveless

How much would you pay on your electric bill to combat climate change?

Is $10 or $20 a month reasonable? $50 too much?

Or, maybe you’re unwilling to shell out anything at all.

A new survey offers some insight regarding the extent to which Americans consider climate change a legitimate threat and how much they’re willing to pay for government policies that would respond to the phenomena.

Conducted by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC) and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, the inquiry found that 65% of Americans think climate change is a problem that the government needs to address, including 84% of Democrats and 43% of Republicans…

…Still, the findings indicate more public support for paying for climate policies such as a carbon tax, a cap-and-trade plan or other regulation than may have been evident before, according to Michael Greenstone, the director of EPIC.

“I think what this says is that quietly there is developing a change in peoples’ attitudes with respect to paying for climate policy,” Greenstone said in an interview.

“I found it striking that one in five households were willing to pay $50 a month,” he added.

Continue reading at USA Today…

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Areas of Focus: Climate Change
Definition
Climate Change
Climate change is an urgent global challenge. EPIC research is helping to assess its impacts, quantify its costs, and identify an efficient set of policies to reduce emissions and adapt...
Climate Economics
Definition
Climate Economics
Climate change will affect every sector of the economy, both locally and globally. EPIC research is quantifying these effects to help guide policymakers, businesses, and individuals working to mitigate and...
Climate Law & Policy
Definition
Climate Law & Policy
As countries around the world implement policies to confront climate change, EPIC research is calculating which policies will have the most impact for the least cost.