Americans' support for green energy tax credits and renewable energies like wind and solar power decreased in recent years, according to a new poll, driven by a softening in support from Democrats and independents.
聽poll finds that U.S. adults鈥� support for tax credits for聽听补苍诲听聽weakened, as well as their enthusiasm for offshore wind farm expansion. While Democrats remain the strongest supporters of these initiatives, the poll reveals signs of growing cynicism within their ranks.
The poll results coincide with sweeping changes President Donald Trump's Republican administration made to聽. Though Democrats and independents weakened their support for some green energy initiatives, there was no increase in support for Trump's energy policies.
The poll found only about 4 in 10 U.S. adults 鈥� including only 1 in 10 Democrats and about 2 in 10 independents, along with three-quarters of Republicans 鈥� approve of how Trump is handling climate change, largely tracking with his overall approval rating.
The AP-NORC poll of 1,158 adults was conducted June 5-9, using a sample drawn from NORC's probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 4 percentage points.
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About 6 in 10 Democrats, or 58%, favor tax credits for purchasing an electric vehicle, down from about 7 in 10 in 2022. Among independents, support declined from 49% in 2022 to 28%. Only one-quarter of Republicans supported this policy in 2022, and that hasn't changed measurably.
"As far as the pollution goes聽鈥� the (gasoline-powered) vehicles nowadays put out very little emissions to the air," said JD Johnson, 62, a Democrat from Meadowview, Virginia, who somewhat opposes tax credits to purchase an electric vehicle. He聽also sees the electric vehicle manufacturing process as energy intensive.
The decline in favoring solar panel tax credits was across the board rather than concentrated among Democrats.
"For solar panels, in all honesty, I don't think they're that efficient yet," said Glenn Savage, 78, a left-leaning independent from Rock Hill, South Carolina. "I'd rather see them pour money into research and try to get the solar panels more efficient before they start giving tax breaks to the public."
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Scientists say and ditching fossil fuels that release planet-warming emissions are essential to protect the planet. The Trump administration canceled billions of dollars in project grants for awarded during President Joe Biden's Democratic administration, and that paused approvals, permits and loans for wind energy projects聽stunted聽the offshore wind sector.
Fewer than half of U.S. adults, 44%, now say offshore wind farms should be expanded in the U.S., down from 59% in 2022. About half favor expanding solar panel farms, while about two-thirds were in support in 2022.
When people are concerned about and their , environmental issues are sometimes prioritized less, said Talbot Andrews, an assistant professor in the department of government at Cornell University who was not involved in the poll.
"I think it makes people anxious to think about increased taxes or increased spending on environmental issues when the are going through the roof," Andrews said.
Trump championed the expansion of , as well as , but the poll shows only about one-third of U.S. adults think offshore drilling for oil and natural gas should be expanded in the U.S., and only about one-quarter say this about coal mining.
In both cases, Republicans are much more likely than Democrats to support expanding these energy sources.
Trump sought to open up national monuments for oil drilling, but more U.S. adults oppose than support auctioning off more public space for oil drilling. Only about one-quarter of U.S. adults favor this, while 4 in 10 are opposed. Republicans are much more likely than independents or Democrats to be in support.
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The Energy Star program that certifies appliances, such as dishwashers and refrigerators, as energy efficient recently appeared in headlines when the EPA made . The blue and white logo is well recognized, and experts say the program had bipartisan support until recently.
The poll found three-quarters of Democrats support providing consumer rebates for efficient home appliances, compared with 6 in 10 Republicans.
The poll found only about 2 in 10 U.S. adults are "extremely" or "very" confident in the federal government's ability to ensure the safety of their drinking water, the air they breathe and the meat, poultry, fruits and vegetables they buy in grocery stores.
About 4 in 10 U.S. adults are "somewhat" confident in the federal government's ability to ensure the safety of each of these, and about 4 in 10 are "not very" or "not at all" confident.
The Trump administration announced plans to roll back rules and policies related to and . The federal government also cut staff at the , the federal agency tasked with protecting public health and ensuring food supply safety.