Californians ready to spend, vote to fight climate change

Most Californians believe global warming is happening now and that it’s a serious threat to the Golden State’s future, according to the results of a poll released this week.

What’s more, Californians are ready to cast their votes and spend their money to fight it.

The findings from the Public Policy Institute of California, a nonpartisan think tank that’s asked Californians for their take on environmental issues for nearly two decades, suggest Californians place a high value on the environment and want the state to fight to protect it.

The Institute found 78% of Californians think it is somewhat to very important to them for California to lead the charge to fight climate change. The issue was especially key for Democrats, with 69% saying it was very important, compared with 46% of independents and 24% of Republicans.

That’s useful information from a political perspective, Ed Maibach, director of the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication, said in an email to CalMatters. “This will likely encourage Republican leaders to recognize that opposition to climate solutions may come at a steep cost during their next election,” said Maibach, who was not involved in the polling.

The latest survey of more than 1,700 Californian adults asked how they feel about things ranging from wildfires to coastal drilling to the candidates running for president.

The survey suggests recent catastrophic wildfires might have played a role in shaping public opinion. The majority — 63% — of Californians understand that global warming has played a

part in the wildfires tearing through the state. More — 71% — are very worried about a future of more severe wildfires as a consequence of climate change. Californians think the state’s future is at risk, with 79% calling climate change a somewhat or very serious threat to the state’s future economy and its quality of life.

The wildfire results stood out to Mark Baldassare, president and chief executive officer of the Institute.

“That to me was the most significant finding related to both attitudes with global warming and the environment, but also how people are thinking about the public policy needs in the state, differently,” Baldassare said.

As for policy, Californians are generally in favor of the state’s work to curb greenhouse gas pollution. About two-thirds of residents support state targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 40% below 1990 levels by 2030. And even more —71% — are on board with a new law that aims for 100%clean electricity in the state by 2045.

Californians even support reducing emissions from their beloved automobiles.

With the state’s air board embroiled in a battle against President Donald Trump’s administration over its efforts to roll back standards from President Barack Obama for tailpipe emissions, three-quarters of Californians want the state to require cleaner cars from automakers.

And 74% want the state and federal governments to encourage local lawmakers to make transportation and land use decisions that help people spend less time in their vehicles.

Of course, asking people about their attitudes is one thing. Asking them whether they’d be willing to pay is another.

“That’s the telltale question,” said Suzanne Reed, former vice president of the public policy research company Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin & Associates and a former commissioner of the California Energy Commission. She was not involved in this survey.

It’s true that most Californians — 58% — suspect the state’s efforts to combat climate change will mean higher gas prices at the pump. But half of Californians also said they’d be fine with paying more for clean electricity. That’s particularly true for Democrats, 68% of whom said they’d pay more, compared with 28% of Republicans — although independents come in as a close second at 52%.

Knowing that people are willing to pay more for a long-term benefit is important information for the state’s policymakers, Reed said. “That allows you to be a little more courageous about what you’re going to propose,” she said.

The results should be reassuring to the state’s environmentalists, Reed said.“There’s reassurance that we’re headed in the right direction, and that we have the political and public support.”