Voters Support Environmental Justice for All
By Marcela Mulholland and Danielle Deiseroth
Executive Summary
Likely voters support the Environmental Justice for All Act by a 30-percentage-point margin, and a majority of all voters support the bill’s key policies.
A majority of all voters (55 percent) support an “Equity Score” to assess impacts on frontline communities for all major climate and environmental bills.
Voters support the Climate Equity Act by a 20-point margin.
Over the past few months, we've seen national uprisings against racism and police brutality. “I Can’t Breathe” has become one of the movement's iconic slogans. While most people might hear this slogan and think about Eric Garner and George Floyd’s final words, the reality is that it’s not just police brutality making it difficult for Black people, Indigenous peoples, and people of color to breathe. Air pollution and environmental racism affect communities of color all across the country every single day, making it harder to breathe, drink, and live.
Thankfully, we’re seeing significant momentum building at the federal level to address environmental justice. Senator Kamala Harris of California recently coauthored the Climate Equity Act with Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, outlining various administrative processes that a progressive administration could use to institutionalize environmental justice across governmental agencies. In addition, Senator Harris, alongside Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey and Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, proposed the Environmental Justice for All Act.
As part of several August 2020 surveys, we asked likely voters questions about the Environmental Justice for All Act, the Climate Equity Act, and key policy components of each bill.
First, we asked voters if they support or oppose policies from the Environmental Justice for All Act. Overall, a majority of all voters support each of the policy proposals we tested. Especially popular among the policies are those to reinforce the National Environmental Policy Act (66 percent support, 19 percent oppose), to establish programs to ensure more equitable access to parks and the outdoors (64 percent support, 20 percent oppose), and to fund federal grants to address environmental and public-health issues (64 percent support, 22 percent oppose).
To assess support for the bill, we provided voters with a brief explanation of the Environmental Justice for All Act, and included arguments both for and against the bill. Despite seeing arguments against the bill, voters support the Environmental Justice for All Act by a 30-percentage-point margin (57 percent support, 27 percent oppose). The bill enjoys support from an overwhelming majority of voters who self-identify as Democrats (74 percent support) and voters who self-identify as independents (50 percent support), though voters who self-identify as Republicans oppose it by a slim margin of 3 points (42 percent support, 45 percent oppose).
Next, we asked voters about several policies included in the Climate Equity Act. We first asked voters if they support or oppose the creation of an independent Office of Climate and Environmental Justice Accountability, which would ensure communities on the frontlines of pollution and climate change have a voice in the legislative process. A majority of voters (57 percent) support the creation of this office, including a majority of Democrats (75 percent support, 13 percent oppose), a plurality of independents (49 percent support, 28 percent oppose), and a narrow plurality of Republicans (43 percent support, 41 percent oppose).
Voters show similar support for the proposal of including an “Equity Score” on new environmental and climate bills to estimate the impact of the legislation on frontline communities. A majority of voters (55 percent) support including an Equity Score on new environmental and climate bills, including a majority of Democrats (64 percent support, 17 percent oppose), plurality of independents (46 percent support, 22 percent oppose), and majority of Republicans (51 percent support, 28 percent oppose).
Finally, we presented voters with a brief description of the Climate Equity Act, and provided arguments for and against the bill. Voters support the Climate Equity Act by a 25-point margin (55 percent support, 30 percent oppose). The bill enjoys high levels of support from Democrats (73 percent support, 16 percent oppose) and independents (50 percent support, 27 percent oppose), though it faces opposition from Republicans (39 percent support, 46 percent oppose).
Despite facing narrow margins of opposition from Republicans, the Environmental Justice for All Act and the Climate Equity Act enjoy overwhelming support from Democrats and independents. These results build upon the growing support for environmental-justice policies, including those from the Biden campaign’s environmental-justice plan.The experiences of environmental-justice communities make clear that racism is not only entrenched in our police and criminal systems, but also in the very air we breathe and the water we drink. Policymakers, like Senator Harris and former Vice President Biden, looking to lead on climate must address this reality—and can do so with confidence that voters have their back.
Marcela Mulholland (@x3Marcela_) is Deputy Director for Climate for Data for Progress
Danielle Deiseroth (@danielledeis) is the Climate Data Analyst for Data for Progress
Edited by Andrew Mangan, Senior Editor, Data for Progress
Survey Methodology:
From August 13 through August 14, 2020, Data for Progress conducted a survey of 1,143 likely voters nationally, using web-panel respondents. The sample was weighted to be representative of likely voters by age, gender, education, race, and voting history. The survey was conducted in English. The margin of error is +/- 2.7 percentage points
On August 21, 2020, Data for Progress conducted a survey of 1,135 likely voters nationally, using web-panel respondents. The sample was weighted to be representative of likely voters by age, gender, education, race, and voting history. The survey was conducted in English. The margin of error is +/- 2.7 percentage points
Survey Questions:
For each of the following policy proposals, please indicate if you support or oppose them:
Establish programs to ensure more equitable access to parks and the outdoors.
Reinforce the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to ensure communities can weigh in on new major federal infrastructure investments, like highways
Fund research to study potentially harmful consumer products marketed towards women and girls of color
Fund additional federal grants for research, education, and projects to address environmental and public health issues
Assessing the past, present, and future environmental impacts of new polluting sources, like factories, in minority and low-income communities before issuing a permit for construction
Strongly support
Somewhat support
Somewhat oppose
Strongly oppose
Don’t know
Lawmakers have recently introduced the Environmental Justice for All Act, a bill that introduces new measures and strengthens existing laws to protect low-income communities and communities of color from pollution. Supporters say that low-income communities and communities of color are disproportionately affected by pollution, and the government should invest in solutions to make these communities healthier and more sustainable. Opponents say these measures are just another example of wasteful government spending and unnecessary bureaucracy that will hurt the very same companies that are large employers in low-income communities and communities of color. Do you support or oppose the Environmental Justice for All Act?
Strongly support
Somewhat support
Somewhat oppose
Strongly oppose
Don’t know
Would you support or oppose the creation of an independent Office of Climate and Environmental Justice Accountability to ensure communities on the front lines of pollution and climate change have voices in the legislative process?
Strongly support
Somewhat support
Somewhat oppose
Strongly oppose
Don’t know
Would you support or oppose a proposal that requires any new environmental and climate-related bills in Congress to receive an ‘Equity Score’ that will estimate the impact the bill has on the communities most impacted by pollution and climate change?
Strongly support
Somewhat support
Somewhat oppose
Strongly oppose
Don’t know
Lawmakers recently introduced the Climate Equity Act, a new bill that plans to incorporate communities on the front lines of pollution and climate change into the legislative process. The bill also establishes an ‘Equity Score’ for new pieces of environmental legislation to assess the impacts on front line communities. Supporters say that the government should be held accountable by communities who face environmental injustice and have historically been excluded from environmental policy decisions. Opponents say that this is just another example of unnecessary bureaucracy that will slow down the legislative process and delay the passing of new environmental bills. Do you support or oppose the Climate Equity Act?
Strongly support
Somewhat support
Somewhat oppose
Strongly oppose
Don’t know