Voters Support Ending Fossil Fuel Subsidies
By Danielle Deiseroth and Julia Jeanty
Earlier this year, President Biden announced his plan to replace a number of fossil fuel subsidies with incentives for clean energy, driving forward his commitment to divesting from fossil fuels and ushering in a new era of energy innovation.
The U.S. spends $20 billion annually in bailouts for the fossil fuel industry, keeping the costs associated with fossil energy artificially low and exacerbating the climate crisis at a time when wildfires are running rampant in the west, hurricanes are devastating the east and gulf coasts, and our nation’s infrastructure is collapsing across the country. Ending fossil fuel subsidies has the potential to help lower renewable energy costs, create jobs in the fast-growing clean energy industry, free up funding for critical infrastructure projects, and tackle the climate crisis head on.
While a plan for phasing out fossil fuel subsidies is notably missing from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal, the data is clear: ending fossil fuel subsidies is a popular idea among Democrats, Independents, and Republicans alike.
In two July 2021 national surveys, Data for Progress assessed the attitudes of likely voters towards ending fossil fuel subsidies. We also tested three distinct messages to identify which, if any, argument in favor of ending fossil fuel subsidies increases support for the proposal.
Before seeing any messaging, voters support the government eliminating tax subsidies and other financial incentives for fossil fuels by a 24-percentage-point margin (54 percent support, 30 percent oppose). Democrats support this proposal by an overwhelming 52-point margin (70 percent support, 18 percent oppose), while Independents support it by a 15-point margin (49 percent support, 34 percent oppose). While Republicans are nearly split, they oppose it by a narrow 3-point margin (39 percent support, 42 percent oppose).
After assessing initial support, we randomly split likely voters into three groups to test which message in support of ending fossil fuel subsidies is most effective at driving support for the proposal, even in the face of oppositional messaging. After stating that some lawmakers are proposing a new bill to eliminate government tax subsidies and other financial incentives for fossil fuel companies, we showed one of the following messages from supporters of this initiative:
Anti-Corporate: Supporters say that American taxpayers should stop bailing out wealthy fossil fuel corporations that make hundreds of billions of dollars in profit each year.
Fund Clean Energy: Supporters say that American taxpayers should not be bailing out the declining fossil fuel industry and should instead help lower energy costs and create jobs in the fast-growing clean energy industry.
Climate Crisis: Supporters say that as heatwaves, fires, and droughts devastate communities around the country, the last thing we should be doing is giving handouts to corporations fueling the climate crisis.
Additionally, all respondents saw the following message from opponents of this proposal:
Opponents say that government tax subsidies and other financial incentives lower the cost of energy, keep America energy independent, and create good-paying jobs.
Regardless of the message, a majority of all likely voters still support ending fossil fuel subsidies, even after seeing negative messaging. However, the anti-corporate message clearly drove voters more in favor of the proposal. Support for ending fossil fuel subsidies moved 6 points among likely voters that saw this message, from 54 percent to 60 percent. This echos our recent polling finding bipartisan anti-corporate sentiment that oil and gas companies have too much power. Meanwhile, there were no appreciable differences in support among voters that saw the messages centered on increasing funding for clean energy and addressing the climate crisis. Both of these messages were still effective at countering the oppositional argument claiming that ending fossil fuel subsidies would have a negative impact on America’s economy.
Conclusion
Time and time again, Republicans have pushed back on a number of progressive climate policies under the guise that they are too costly, too radical, and pose a threat to the U.S. economy. Ending fossil fuel subsidies not only frees up funding to materialize critical climate mitigation plans, but also has strong bipartisan support. In order to maintain a strong positioning on climate and bring the U.S. back in as a leader in the fight against the climate crisis, President Biden must listen to the will of voters and push Congress to center the infrastructure conversation around ending fossil fuel subsidies.
Survey Methodology
From July 14 to 19, 2021, Data for Progress conducted two national surveys totaling 2,401 likely voters 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 percentage points.