AP poll: Only 16 percent of Americans oppose the kind of clean energy legislation blocked by Joe Manchin

Americans are significantly more worried about climate change than they were three years ago, according to an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll released Tuesday, with 59 percent calling the warming planet a very or extremely important issue for them, up from 49 percent in 2018. Majorities said their concerns about climate change were shaped by scientists (54 percent) and recent extreme weather events (51 percent), the poll found.
In all, 75 percent of Americans, including 57 percent of Republicans, said they believe climate change is happening — 10 percent said they don't think it's real. Of the 75 percent who believe in climate change, 54 percent said it is caused mostly or entirely by human activities. And 55 percent of Americans told the AP-NORC pollsters they want Congress to pass a bill ensuring that more energy consumed in the U.S. comes from clean sources and less comes from coal and natural gas.
"Only 16 percent of Americans oppose such a measure for electricity from cleaner energy," similar to President Biden's proposal in his Build Back Better plan, AP reports. "But Biden's proposal to reward utilities with clean energy sources and penalize those without ran into objections from a coal-state senator, Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia, leaving fellow Democrats scrambling to come up with other ways to slash pollution from burning fossil fuels."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Global warming is "already here, and what was the first thing they start watering down to get this bill through? Climate change," Nancy Reilly, a Democrat in Missouri, told AP. "It's just maddening," she added. "I understand why, I do — I get the politics of it. I'm sick of the politics of it."
The AP-NORC poll surveyed 5,468 U.S. adults Sept. 8-24 through NORC's AmeriSpeak Panel, randomly recruited then interviewed by phone. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is ± 1.7 percentage points.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
'With every technological advance, there are risks'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
5 of the best platonic TV friendships
the week recommends Maintaining boundaries has proven tricky for all but the most committed of buddies on the small screen
-
Why are global postal services cutting off package delivery to the US?
Today's Big Question 'Uncertainty' around new tariff rules halts small-dollar imports
-
DOGE put Social Security data at risk, official says
Speed Read DOGE workers made the personal information of hundreds of millions of Americans vulnerable to identity theft
-
Court rejects Trump suit against Maryland US judges
Speed Read Judge Thomas Cullen, a Trump appointee, said the executive branch had no authority to sue the judges
-
Trump expands National Guard role in policing
Speed Read The president wants the Guard to take on a larger role in domestic law enforcement
-
Trump says he's firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Speed Read The move is likely part of Trump's push to get the central bank to cut interest rates
-
Abrego released from jail, faces Uganda deportation
Speed Read The wrongly deported Kilmar Abrego García is expected to be detained at an ICE check-in and deported to Uganda
-
Trump arms National Guard in DC, threatens other cities
speed read His next targets are Chicago, New York and Baltimore
-
Judge: Trump's US attorney in NJ serving unlawfully
Speed Read The appointment of Trump's former personal defense lawyer, Alina Habba, as acting US attorney in New Jersey was ruled 'unlawful'
-
Third judge rejects DOJ's Epstein records request
Speed Read Judge Richard Berman was the third and final federal judge to reject DOJ petitions to unseal Epstein-related grand jury material