By Cara Korte
Most Americans support climate policies, according to a recent poll, even as Congress seems stuck as they negotiate President Joe Biden’s “Build Back Better” agenda.
The nationwide poll found 55% of Americans support a type of clean energy standard that would decrease the use of fossil fuels and increase the use of renewable energy, according to the survey of adults by The AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago.
Sixteen percent of those surveyed oppose the policy, while 28% are unsure of whether a clean energy standard, also known as a clean electricity performance program, should be implemented.
But there is an ideological divide on the issue. Three out of four Democrats support the initiative, more than the 45% of Independents and 35% of Republicans who favor it. An equal number of Republicans are neither in favor nor oppose the idea, while 30% are against it.
Implementing a clean electricity performance program was a marquee part of Mr. Biden’s plan, but has been taken off the table as negotiations have progressed. Swing vote West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin opposed the policy.
Manchin also opposed a carbon tax. According to the poll, 52% of Americans would support a carbon fee if it raised their energy bills by $1. Support wanes if potential bills go up more than that, however, when respondents learned a $1 fee increase would result in a tax rebate, support for a carbon tax grew to 58%.