New polling: 83% of Democrats Support Polluters Pay Climate Fund Legislation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, August 18
Contact: Jamie Henn, jamie@fossilfree.media, 415-601-9337

Washington, D.C. -- New polling shows strong voter support for the Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act recently introduced by Senators Chris Van Hollen, Bernie Sanders, Ed Markey, Sheldon Whitehouse, and Elizabeth Warren.

The legislation aims to raise $500 billion for infrastructure and other programs by making big polluters like Exxon and Chevron pay a fee associated with their share of emissions over the last 20 years.

The polling, conducted by Data for Progress this July, shows that:

• Over three-quarters of likely voters (77 percent) think fossil fuel companies have a responsibility to address climate change

• By a 40-point margin, likely voters support a $500 billion fee on major fossil fuel companies to compensate for their contributions to climate change

  • 83% of Democrats support the proposal, while only 9% oppose it

  • 65% of Independents / Third Party voters support the proposal, while only 25% oppose it

  • 43% of Republicans support the proposal, while 42% oppose it

• A majority of likely voters (61%) think it is important that low-income communities and communities of color receive compensation from fossil fuel companies to improve community health and sustainability

The widespread popularity of the plan should add to its growing support in Washington as Democrats begin to discuss how to pay for the infrastructure proposals moving through Congress.

“Making polluters pay is political gold. This is the most popular proposal we’ve seen about how to fund the climate investments in the infrastructure package,” said Mike Tidwell, executive director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network. “Voters across the board think we need to hold fossil fuel companies accountable and they see the Polluters Pay Climate Fund as a way to do it. This proposal should definitely be included in the list of infrastructure spending pay-fors.”

“Every year climate polluters kill hundreds of thousands of people in the United States and over nine million people world wide. Polluters must pay for all the pain and suffering they cause our communities,” said Kaniela Ing, Climate Justice Campaign Director with People’s Action. “Every Democrat, Republican, and Independent learned at some point that ‘if you make a mess, you clean it up.’ This idea is neither controversial nor partisan. It deserves widespread support among members of Congress, especially as members obsess over finding more ‘pay-fors’ to fund the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework and the American Jobs Plan."

“We need to hold big polluters accountable for the damage they have done to our communities and the impact they have had on the rapidly changing climate. In order to ensure that we all thrive, big polluters must pay their fair share for a just clean energy transition,” said Dianne Enriquez, Director of Opportunity Campaigns at the Center for Popular Democracy.

“It is clear that voters support holding fossil fuel companies accountable for their decades of hazardous emissions. As lawmakers debate proposals to create a more sustainable and equitable clean energy future, they can feel confident supporting measures that ensure fossil fuel companies pay their fair share of this transition,” said Danielle Deiseroth, Senior Climate Data Analyst at Data for Progress

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