The Sierra Club and GreenLatinos have released the results of a post-election survey finding that 88% of Latino voters want the U.S. to meet its commitments under the Paris Agreement. In addition, 82% back the continuation of the Clean Power Plan.
The national poll, conducted by Myers Research among 1,000 Latinos who voted in the presidential election this month, also revealed “overwhelming support” among Latinos for a goal of 100% clean energy by 2050, clean air and water protections, and the fight to tackle the climate crisis, according to a release from the Sierra Club and GreenLatinos.
“Latino voters have demonstrated once again that when it comes to supporting clean energy, climate action and environmental protection, they are ahead of the national curve,” says Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club. “In overwhelming numbers, Latinos recognize that burning fossil fuels is putting our planet in crisis and that we must tackle this challenge with the urgency it demands.”
In addition, Latino voters’ concerns about climate change have intensified since the Sierra Club and the National Council of La Raza’s 2012 Latinos and the Environment Survey, the groups say.
“Hispanic voters’ concern over the environment overall has nearly tripled in the last four years, with both pollution and climate change emerging as top-of-mind issues that these voters want the next administration to address,” says pollster Andrew Myers of Myers Research.
Some key findings include as follows:
- Nearly nine in 10 respondents (89%) reported that the environment and pollution impact their family’s quality of life;
- Approximately 77% are concerned about climate change, including a majority (53%) who are very concerned. Similarly, 88% of respondents consider it important that the U.S. meet its commitments to reduce carbon pollution under the 2015 Paris Agreement, and 71% call it “very important”;
- The majority of respondents want the next administration to focus on fully implementing and enforcing strong water and air pollution rules: 64% rate water protections as a top priority, along with 58% who say the same of air protection;
- Eighty-two percent would like to see implementation of the Clean Power Plan (58% strongly); and
- Another 82% would prefer that the U.S. invest more in clean, renewable energy sources over fossil fuels, and another 77% favor setting a national goal of 100% clean energy by 2050 (51% strongly).
The 2016 Latinos and the Environment Post-Election Poll was conducted in English and Spanish by Myers Research | Strategic Services on Nov. 9-13. The survey reached a representative sample of 1,000 Latino voters who indicated that they voted in the 2016 general election, and the margin of error is +/-3.1 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, the groups say.
More on the poll results can be found here.
