Most of the U.S. supports the United States’ cooperating with other countries to combat global warming, but when it comes to taking “aggressive action,” the issue falls short of a majority, according to a poll released Tuesday by Thomson Reuters.
The Ipsos/Reuters poll was conducted June 2-4, beginning one day after President Trump announced his withdrawal from the Paris climate change agreement.
Seventy-three percent of respondents in the poll answered “yes” to the question “Do you approve of the United States working with other countries to limit global warming?” according to the polling data.
Democrats and independents answered “yes” much more frequently than Republicans to that question, with 87 percent of Democrats, 75 percent of independents and 61 percent of Republicans answering “yes.”
Meanwhile, a Gallup survey conducted June 2, the day after Trump’s announcement, showed that voters are most concerned about the tradeoffs of addressing climate change, such as jobs versus the environment.
Sixty-six percent of Democrats “worry a great deal” about climate change, as compared with 18 percent of Republicans, according to the Gallup survey.
In the Ipsos/Reuters poll, only 46 percent “strongly” believed the U.S. should take “aggressive action” to combat global warming. Sixty-seven percent of Democrats strongly believe that aggressive action is necessary, while only 25 percent of Republicans “strongly agree” that aggressive actions to combat emission reductions are necessary.
On key pieces of the Paris Agreement that Trump repudiated the most, specifically the Green Climate Fund, there were surprisingly low percentages of Democrats and independent voters who support the funding. The fund seeks to secure $100 billion per year by 2020 from large economies to assist smaller nations in coping with the effects of global warming.
“Do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements … The U.S. should support the creation of a $100 billion internationally managed fund to help developing countries adapt to climate change,” the poll asked. Only 20 percent of the total number of respondents strongly agreed. Only 32 percent of Democrats strongly supported it, as did 8 percent of Republican voters and 20 percent of independents.
The Ipsos/Reuters poll gathered responses from 1,398 Americans online. Of those who responded, 459 were Republicans and 635 Democrats. The margin of error was 3 percent overall and 5 for Republicans and Democrats.
