President Joe Biden has repeatedly bragged about all he’s done to fight climate change, but a shocking new Wall Street Journal poll shows voters don’t care.
Climate change is at the bottom of the list when voters are asked about their priorities, including for young voters the Biden administration is courting and see as a prime target to engage on the issue.
Biden has approved $1 trillion to fight climate change in the form of tax credits, grants and clean energy loans. He has implemented new regulations to increase the number of electronic vehicles on the road and returned the US to the Paris climate agreement.
But voters say immigration (25%), the economy (22%) and inflation (13%) are their top concerns. Climate change is at the bottom at only 2%.
Even young voters consider other issues more important than the environment.
The Magazine survey, A survey of voters in seven swing states in March found that only 3% of 18- to 34-year-old voters listed climate change as their top issue, with most also ranking the economy, inflation or immigration at the top.
The Biden administration argues that climate change is an economic issue and that financing the fight against it will create new jobs. They’re pushing that message ahead of the 2024 election.
Biden’s Republican rival Donald Trump, on the other hand, has dismissed any concerns about climate change.
The former president has criticized electric car subsidies while promising to increase domestic production of oil and gas.
Biden is putting more pressure on electric vehicle ownership, but Americans are losing interest.
Last year, 55% of Americans said they were considering an EV purchase, but that figure has fallen to 44%, according to a March Gallup poll.
The auto union has also been cautious about pressure from Biden and wants protection for workers and help transition to production of the new vehicles.
President Joe Biden and his administration claim climate change is a jobs problem
Biden has made major efforts to get more electronic vehicles (like the one above) on the road
Last month, Biden announced new regulations to ensure the majority of new vehicles sold in the US remain safe be fully electric or hybrid by 2032.
Last year, 1.2 million electric vehicles were sold, but they represented only 7.6 percent of total U.S. auto sales, far short of the 56 percent target under the new regulations.
Another 16 percent of new cars sold are said to be hybrid.
Republicans promptly labeled the measure a “car ban.”
And a Pew Research Poll last year found that 59% of American adults opposed phasing out new gasoline vehicles by 2035, up from 51% in 2021.