Survey Shows Bipartisan Support For Stronger Energy-Saving Standards

As President Biden unveils new efforts to tackle the climate crisis, ACEEE’s Wendy Koch reviews a survey that shows broad bipartisan support for energy efficiency measures.

By Wendy Koch

As President Biden and Congress consider proposals this year to tackle the climate crisis, a new survey shows broad bipartisan support for energy efficiency measures, notably stronger energy-saving standards for vehicles, appliances, and new homes and buildings.

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About 80% or more of U.S. registered voters support several Biden-backed policies, with support highest among liberal Democrats but with backing from at least 50% of conservative Republicans. These policies include tax incentives or rebates to homeowners, landlords, and businesses to make existing buildings more energy efficient (88% overall) or to buy electric appliances (80%), rebates to people who buy energy-efficient vehicles (82%) as well as stronger energy or fuel efficiency standards for new buildings (86%), appliances (83%), and cars, trucks, and SUVs (78%).

“Most registered voters support policies to reduce energy use and improve efficiency,” said the post-election survey of 1,036 registered voters that was released earlier this month by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication.

President Biden, who unveiled an ambitious $2 trillion climate plan with several energy efficiency proposals during the campaign, has already taken steps to undo President Trump’s environmental legacy.

President Biden
President Joseph Biden signs executive actions on climate change on January 27, 2021. (Source: YouTube)

On his first day in office last week, Biden signed an executive order that directed federal agencies to review and consider suspending, revising or reversing many rules enacted over the past four years. Among them are Trump’s rollback of energy or fuel-saving standards for vehicles, buildings, and appliances such as those for washers and dryers and light bulbs.

Today, in an additional executive order, the White House directed federal agencies to make climate action a central focus of their efforts, promote environmental justice in their work, push to develop a zero-emissions power sector by 2035, and buy zero-emission vehicles for their fleets…

To learn more about voter support for stronger energy-saving standards, continue reading Koch’s blog post on the ACEEE website.

BidenWendy Koch is Senior Director, Marketing & Communications, for
the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization that acts as a catalyst to advance energy efficiency policies, programs, technologies, investments, and behaviors.

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