A new Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication report on Politics and Global Warming found the so-called “Trump effect”a downward shift in Republican views on climate change since the 2016 electionhas cooled. Since Fall 2017, Republican registered voters have become more convinced that human-caused global warming is happening, are more worried about the problem, and are more supportive of climate policies. With this change in opinion comes a nine percent increase in support for limited carbon dioxide emissions from power plants and a seven percent increase in support for a revenue neutral carbon tax.
Only 18 percent of registered Republicans voters think the United States should use more coal and only 16 percent think the U.S. should use more oil in the future. By contrast, a solid majority of registered Republicans believe the U.S. should use more solar energy (75 percent) and wind energy (62 percent) moving forward. Sixty percent of Republicans think the U.S. should stay in the Paris Climate Accord and a strong majority of registered voters think the U.S. should reduce carbon emissions regardless of what steps other countries are taking.
Be sure to check out the full report for methodology and more interesting results.