Energy policy and public opinion: patterns, trends and future directions

This article analyzes patterns and trends in U.S public opinion about energy policy to understand which types of policy approaches Americans support and the individual-level determinants that are associated with those preferences. Specifically, we study data from three long-running surveys series-the National Surveys on Energy and Environment, the Climate Change in the American Mind survey and the Gallup Poll Social Series-which collectively provide a vast array of questions on energy policy, ranging from limits on extraction to promotion of clean energy to restrictions on fossil fuel use to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Our analysis finds strong and temporally stable support for policies that promote renewable energy technologies, as well as policies that prioritize environmental protection over energy extraction. We additionally find that partisanship is the most important determinant of Americans' energy policy preferences and that there is an increasing divide between Democrats and Republicans on energy policy. Our analysis does not show that Americans prefer particular policy instruments, but we do find that support declines for policies when their costs are made explicit and that these declines in support are similar in magnitude for Democrats and Republicans. We conclude the paper with directions for future research.