Most Americans, including a majority of Republicans, support government action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that scientists say drive climate change, according to a poll released Friday.
The telephone poll of 1,006 adults showed that 78 percent of Americans backed federal action to limit emissions from businesses, including 60 percent of Republicans who supported the approach. The poll had a 4 percent margin of error and was was conducted by the New York Times, Stanford University and nonpartisan think tank Resources for the Future.
The results come as some Republicans are looking for a different footing on climate change heading into the 2016 election. The race will put a number of GOP-held Senate seats up for grabs, and the presidential contest will bring more liberals and independents to voting booths.
About two-thirds of Americans and nearly half of Republicans — 48 percent — said they were more likely to vote for a candidate who said humans burning fossil fuels has largely caused climate change in the past century. Roughly one-quarter of GOP respondents said that position would make supporting such a candidate less likely.
But climate change is still a thorny issue for Republicans. The poll revealed that 47 percent of voters believe taking action to curb emissions will hurt the economy. Republicans were also far less likely than Democrats to consider climate change a “very serious” threat to the U.S., with 21 percent of Republicans believing so compared to 60 percent of Democrats.
Still, after barely surfacing during the 2012 presidential contest, climate change figures to be a prominent issue on the 2016 trail. Some GOP candidates and Senate incumbents are already trying to carve some space for themselves on the subject.
Mitt Romney, the 2012 GOP presidential nominee, said last week that he believes humans contribute to climate change. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who is thought to have presidential ambitions, was one of 15 Senate Republicans who said humans contribute to climate change in a non-binding vote earlier this month. Five of those senators voted on a separate measure that humans “significantly” contribute to a warming planet — Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who is exploring a presidential bid, was in that group.
