According to a new survey from the Pew Research Center, 69% of Americans support taking steps towards being carbon neutral by 2050, but only 31% want a complete phaseout of fossil fuels.[1] The survey, which was released on March 1, 2022, included 10,237 adults and was conducted from January 24 to 30, 2022. The report notes that the survey was conducted before Russia invaded Ukraine, which may affect public opinion on energy issues. Pew found that 69% of adults prioritize developing alternative energy sources, such as wind and solar, over expanding the production of oil, coal, and natural gas. In addition, 72% support the federal government’s support of wind and solar power. 67% say that the country should use a mix of fossil fuel and renewable energy sources.

Pew said that party affiliation remains dominant in views of climate and energy issues. Generally, Republicans and Republican-leaning independents prioritize expanding fossil fuels over developing alternative energy sources and believe that fossil fuels should remain a part of the energy picture in the U.S. Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents favor prioritizing the development of alternative energy sources and support the U.S. taking steps to become carbon neutral by 2050. The analysis also found that partisan divisions have widened on climate policy in the past few years. Democrats increasingly believe that climate policies do more good than harm for the environment and help the U.S. economy, whereas 62% of Republicans say they generally hurt the U.S. economy, up from 52% in 2019.

[1] https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2022/03/01/americans-largely-favor-u-s-taking-steps-to-become-carbon-neutral-by-2050/