[USA] Survey: Majority of Americans don’t support the complete phaseout of fossil fuels

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/

[USA] “EEI Launches Industry-Wide Environmental, Social, Governance, and Sustainability Reporting Template”

(EEI, 27 August 2018)

The Edison Electric Institute will launch an “environmental, social, governance, and sustainability-related (ESG/sustainability) reporting template;” this report is the first and only one of its kind.  It is based on voluntary reporting of both quantitative (i.e. governance methods and strategies) and qualitative data (i.e. portfolio, emissions, capital expenditures, and resources). Through this report, electricity customers can be better informed on their utility’s status in these areas. EEI’s member electric companies will also benefit as each company’s financial sector will be provided with more standardized and consistent ESG/sustainability information. Tom Kuhn, EEI’s President” said that the pilot form of this report (released in December 2017) was “well-received by investors, key stakeholders, and customers.” JPMorgan Chase’s Deputy Global Head of Sustainable Finance also applauded EEI’s efforts and stated that “as ESG goes mainstream, the disclosure template will help lenders, investors, and EEI member companies engage on the most important ESG and sustainability matters for the electric power industry.”