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Poll: Greenhouse gas regulation favored over carbon taxes
A Duke University poll shows that U.S. residents favor the federal regulation of greenhouse gases over proposals to impose a tax on carbon emissions.
The finding arrives as green groups are pressing the White House to forge ahead with tougher climate policies through regulation while climate bills are frozen in Congress.
The survey shows that 64 percent “strongly” or “somewhat” support regulating greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, factories and cars.
In contrast, 29 percent support increasing taxes on fossil fuels in order to encourage conservation and use of alternative energy, although support rises to 34 percent if $500 was returned to taxpayers as a rebate.
The poll shows that support for cap-and-trade is also around 30 percent, although there is not widespread familiarity with the idea of setting a pollution ceiling and allowing companies to buy and sell emissions credits.
The findings, then, suggest that public opinion may be aligned with what’s politically possible: executive actions that do not require congressional approval.
The Obama administration has already beefed up auto mileage standards and proposed carbon emissions standards for new power plants. But climate advocates want tougher steps, including the creation of carbon standards for existing plants.
Elsewhere, the Duke survey shows that 50 percent are convinced the climate is changing and that another 34 percent say climate change is "probably" happening.
“The survey shows strikingly high numbers of Americans accept that the climate is changing, but support for market-based approaches such as a carbon tax and a system of tradable emissions are not popular among survey respondents,” said Sarah Adair, a research associate at Duke’s Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, in a statement.
Polling shows that belief in climate change has been rising in recent years after dipping during the last decade.
A Pew Research Center poll released in October of 2012 showed that 67 percent of Americans say there is solid evidence of global warming.
That’s four points higher than in 2011 and 10 points higher than 2009, although it remains well below the 77 percent who held the view five years ago, according to Pew’s poll last year.
The overwhelming majority of scientists say that the planet is warming and the human activities, including the use of fossil fuels, are the primary driver.
The Duke poll was conducted via email in mid-January, and the margin of error for the 1,089 respondents was 3 percent, according to the university.
