Tony Leiserowitz, the director of the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, this disconnect between climate change and politics is widespread.
“We see pretty much across the board, at all levels of government, that government officials dramatically underestimate the level of support from their own constituents,” Leiserowitz said.
“Voter preferences and voter priorities”
More Yale polling data found global warming ranked 19th among 28 issues listed in deciding a presidential candidate. It was ranked higher among Democratic voters and lower among Republican voters.
Republican voters ranked the economy and inflation as the top two issues.
“There’s a huge difference between voter preferences and voter priorities. And, you know, politicians have limited time and limited money and a limited ability to communicate with voters,” said Nathaniel Stinnett, the founder and director of the Environmental Voter Project.
In California, a state that typically leads the way in environmental laws and regulations, some local officials are cautious about changing too much too fast.
Voting against environmental legislation
Surprisingly some Democratic lawmakers are voting against environmental legislation, despite widespread public support for climate action.
California Assemblymember Blanca Rubio said her votes reflect the financial realities her constituents face, not climate denial.
“Not every community can afford whatever policy we pass,” Rubio said, pointing to the state’s clean car regulations, which bans the sale of new gas-powered vehicles by 2035. Experts warn that the state may not have the infrastructure to support the shift.
“A lot of times, we vote on bills based on hopes and dreams,” Rubio said.
Jobs are also a key issue. While clean energy jobs now make up more than half of California’s energy workforce, fossil fuel jobs pay, on average, 50% more due to stronger unions.
State Sen. Melissa Hurtado, who represents the state’s largest oil-producing region, supports reducing emissions but stresses the need to protect local jobs.
“We have to think about what’s going to keep our economy going and keep people employed,” Hurtado said.
New environmental laws have been pumping money and jobs into the economy
While California Democrats may feel some climate policies are hurting their constituents, across the country many districts are seeing millions of dollars in investment and new jobs because of climate policy.
This is especially true in conservative congressional districts where all representatives voted against the Inflation Reduction Act.