July 22, 2019 – Washington, D.C. – Today, Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions (CRES) Forum and the American Conservation Coalition (ACC) announced the results of a national survey of millennial Republican attitudes toward clean energy and climate change. The survey, fielded by WPA Intelligence, indicated strong preferences among millennial voters for Republicans to do more to address climate change and for policymakers to accelerate the development and use of clean and renewable energy across the country.
CRES Forum and the ACC will host a clean energy advocate fly-in with GOP Congressional offices on July 24-25 to share these survey results and urge leadership on clean energy solutions.
“Younger Americans are set to exercise their political muscle in 2020, and this survey clearly demonstrates that if the Republican Party wants to ensure both short- and long-term viability, it must embrace policies aimed at reducing emissions that affect climate change,” said Heather Reams, Executive Director of CRES Forum. “Millennial Republicans understand that a commonsense approach to balancing our nation’s economic, energy and environmental needs is good policy and good politics. The survey results tell us that elected leaders will be rewarded by running for reelection on a record that supports clean energy development and deployment.”
“The next generation of conservative leaders is ready to prioritize common-sense environmental reforms and ACC is proud to be leading the charge,” said Benji Backer, President of the American Conservation Coalition. “CRES Forum and ACC’s recent poll showcases this overwhelming support for clean energy, and we’re proud to be representing such a bold movement. Our fly-in is just the beginning of a much larger push for sensible leadership on energy, conservation, and climate reforms.”
Key Survey Takeaways:
Millennial GOP Voters Believe the Republican Party Needs to Do More When It Comes to Addressing the Issue of Climate Change.
- Over two-thirds of millennial GOP voters (67%) believe the Republican Party needs to do more while one in five are undecided (21%) on the issue.
- Millennial GOP voters who are Libertarian GOP (78%) and Traditional GOP (73%) believe the party should be doing more than those who are Trump GOP (59%) and Tea Party GOP (62%).
GOP Millennial Voters Agree that Ignoring Climate Change Will Be Harmful to the Republican Party
- A plurality of millennial Republicans (49%) agree that ignoring climate change will be harmful to the Republican Party. However, one-third of voters disagree with this view (34%), while almost one-fifth is undecided (16%).
- Among gender and age breaks, over a majority of men (58%) and women (53%) aged 18-30 agree that ignoring climate change will be harmful to the party. Followed by men and women aged 31 and over (49% men /30% women).
Millennial GOP Voters Believe Climate Change is Human-Caused
- A majority of millennial Republicans believe in human-caused climate change (57%), compared to one in five (20%) who don’t believe.
- Believability is bolstered by Catholics (70%), Libertarian Republicans (66%), moderates (65%), and men and women aged 18-30 (63% men / 61% women).
Millennial GOP Voters Support the Government Taking Action to Accelerate the Development and Use of Clean Energy in the United States.
- Over three in four (78%) millennial Republicans support the government taking action to accelerate the development of clean energy.
Millennial GOP Voters Say It Is Important for The United States to Expand and Use Renewable Energy Resources Such as Wind and Solar.
- More than four in five (82%) millennial Republicans say it is very important or at least somewhat important for the U.S. to expand and use renewable energy, with only one in ten (10%) stating it is not that important or not important at all.
- Millennial GOP voters state it is very important or at least somewhat important among key ideologies to expand and use renewable energy resources – the highest being somewhat conservative (85%), followed by very conservative (80%), and moderate (84%).
To read WPAi’s polling memo click here.
Please join WPAi, CRES Forum, and ACC for a webinar to review the poll results on Monday, July 29th at 2:00 PM ET. Register for the webinar here. [View the webinar here.]
Methodology
The findings are based on results from a study by WPA Intelligence conducted on behalf of CRES Forum and ACC from July 7-9, 2019. This survey was fielded among n=801 millennial GOP voters (ages 18-38) nationwide and has a margin of error of +/-3.5%. Interviews were collected through online research and telephone operated research.
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Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions (CRES) Forum is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that educates the public and influences the national conversation around responsible clean energy solutions that are actionable, market-friendly, and responsible. Founded in 2017, our organization provides expert information to key decisionmakers, so they are empowered to act. See more at www.cresforum.org.
The American Conservation Coalition (ACC) is a millennial-led conservative organization that promotes limited-government solutions to environmental issues. The ACC advocates for conservation, clean energy, and climate reforms through education and grassroots mobilization. See more at www.acc.eco.