Half of Republicans in new poll support Biden push to cut emissions

Among nearly three-quarters of Americans who said in a new poll that they want the federal government to design policies around a goal of halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, half of Republicans joined Democratic respondents, bucking party lines and showing significant support for Biden administration commitments to fighting climate change.

The CNN poll released Thursday found about two-thirds of respondents are worried about the impacts of climate change on their communities, and nearly 60 percent are worried about increasing extreme weather.

The results come as world leaders gather at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai to discuss climate change policy. Negotiations have focused on the fossil fuel industry, but they face setbacks as some nations cling to fossil fuel revenues to support their economies.

Last week, Vice President Harris pledged $3 billion at the summit to help developing countries’ climate policy, including investing in green energy.

The Biden administration has also allocated billions in tax breaks for purchasing electric vehicles, solar panel arrays and appliances, and it has implemented regulations to reduce industrial emissions.

Those policies are popular, the poll found, with about two-thirds of poll respondents saying each of the policy initiatives should either be a top priority of the government or is important.

Despite support for underlying policy, a slight majority still disapprove of how Biden has handled environmental issues, according to the poll. Only 43 percent of Americans and 11 percent of Republicans approve of Biden’s environmental record.

At the same time, another 58 percent of Americans say the federal government isn’t doing enough to fight climate change, with just a quarter saying it is doing “just the right amount” of work.

The CNN poll surveyed about 1,800 people reached by mail last month, with a margin of error of 3.2 percentage points.