President Joe Biden’s climate agenda calls for trillions in additional government spending, but half of registered voters in a recent poll said they are unwilling to personally spend more than $10 each month to reduce the impact of climate change.
In a poll released Tuesday by the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), 35% of respondents said they are unwilling to pay a dollar out-of-pocket on policies that mitigate climate change, and an additional 15% said they are only willing to spend $10 of their own money each month on climate change policies.
CEI conducted the online survey of 1,200 registered voters nationwide between April 15-18. The poll had a margin of error of +/- 2.83 percentage points.
A new @ceidotorg poll shows despite the large numbers of Americans that say they are concerned about climate change, they STILL don’t want to pay for the Green New Deal or the Biden Blackout Agenda https://t.co/1ZtZ1HEfiz pic.twitter.com/PnnqBk3Bci
— Competitive Enterprise Institute (@ceidotorg) May 26, 2021
Among those polled, 39% of respondents who said they are currently saving for retirement or higher education expenses are unwilling to give up any of their savings for immediate climate spending. Additionally, 30% of respondents with savings said they are willing to give up “a limited amount” for climate spending.
Biden has proposed $2 trillion in federal spending over four years to address climate change, or around $3,500 per taxpayer each year. His climate agenda aims to curtail carbon emissions and overhaul the nation’s energy sector in favor of renewable energy.
Although two-thirds of voters said they are “very” or “somewhat concerned” about climate change, a slight majority said climate change was not a factor in deciding who to vote for in the 2020 presidential election, according to CEI polling data. Respondents who identified as conservative or Republican were significantly less likely to say climate change was a factor in their vote.
Biden’s climate agenda also calls for a major expansion in the nation’s electric vehicle fleet. His infrastructure plan would set aside $174 billion for electric vehicles, including research funding and efforts to set up vehicle charging stations nationwide. (RELATED: Climate Experts Say Biden’s Infrastructure Plan Filled With ‘Wasteful Spending’ On Green Agenda)
But a majority of voters said they are unlikely to spend extra money to replace their gas-powered car with an electric vehicle, according to CEI polling data. Among those polled, 53% of respondents said they are “very” or “somewhat unlikely” to make the switch, while just 25% said they are “very” or “somewhat likely.”
“When Americans unexpectedly pay more for gas and utilities because of events like electric grid failures and attacks on our pipelines and with the summer driving season ready to start next week, it is little wonder few voters clamor for costly new regulations,” said CEI President and CEO Kent Lassman in a press release Tuesday.
“This poll shows once again that Americans are unwilling to pay for the left’s anti-energy policies,” added Director of CEI’s Center for Energy and Environment Myron Ebell.