Most Americans say climate change is real, they just won't even pay $1 per month to tackle it
Americans are becoming less convinced that mankind causes , and are even less willing to spend as little as $1 on their monthly energy bills to cut carbon emissions, a survey shows. Pollsters found that the share of Americans who agree with most scientists that global warming is a reality has remained relatively stable in recent years, currently at 74 percent of respondents. But the share of those who attribute climate change to humans, as opposed to natural changes in the environment, has fallen from 60 percent in 2018 to 49 percent in the most recent survey. Meanwhile, the share of respondents who would be willing to on tackling climate threats has also nosedived. Just 38 percent of Americans would support a carbon fee of $1 on their energy bills each month thats 14 percentage points fewer than when they were asked the same question two years ago. And that number gets smaller as the potential carbon fee goes up. Only a fifth of Americans would be willing to pay a $100 carbon fee each month, and more than half of them would balk at the charge. The survey by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago and The AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research signals that the Biden administration is struggling to convince the public to go green. The administration on Wednesday proposed strict new automobile pollution limits that would require up to sold in the US to be electric by 2032, a nearly tenfold increase over current electric vehicle sales. The proposed regulation, unveiled by the Environmental Protection Agency, would set tailpipe emissions limits for the 2027 through 2032 model years that are the strictest ever imposed. The White House said the regulations would 'protect public health' by leading to carbon emission reductions of nearly 10 billion tons by 2055 and would save consumers an average of $12,000 over the lifetime of vehicles. But the survey of some 5,400 adults indicated that the public was not behind the move. Only 8 percent of respondents said they owned an electric vehicle. Some 41 percent said they were at least somewhat likely to buy an electric vehicle the next time they were shopping for one. Still, even then, most wanted an electric vehicle so they could avoid the costs of gas, and eight in 10 respondents said the vehicles were still too expensive and that there were not yet enough charging stations. New electric vehicles now cost an average of more than $58,000, according to Kelley Blue Book, a price thats beyond the reach of many U.S. households. The average vehicle sold in the US costs just under $46,000. Tax credits approved under last years Inflation Reduction Act are designed to bring EV prices down and attract more buyers. UN climate panels and most scientists say mankind is causing climate change by the emission of carbon dioxide and other planet-heating gases, while also ravaging ecosystems in other ways. But the issue has become a frontline in politics between liberals and conservatives, and the share of Americans who believe in man-made climate change has fallen as the science is increasingly called into question.