Poll: New York voters support state leaders who stand firm on state climate laws

NEW YORK — As Governor Hochul proposes changes to New York’s climate law in state budget negotiations, a new poll shows that the majority of New York voters in geographically diverse districts support following through on the law and back state legislators who do too. Focus geographies included eastern Long Island, Buffalo, Queens and the Hudson Valley.  

“New Yorkers want our state to move forward with strong climate action,” said Kate Boicourt, New York State Director at Environmental Defense Fund. “This poll affirms that New Yorkers view clean energy as an affordable and reliable option, and they want their lawmakers to continue to implement laws which hold polluters accountable.”

55% of all respondents and 74% of Democrats surveyed expressed that in upcoming elections, they’d be more likely to vote for a state legislator who voted to continue implementing New York’s clean energy laws, while only 28% of those polled are more likely to support a legislator who voted to weaken those laws. A majority of those surveyed support New York State continuing to move aggressively toward clean energy deployment.

“Further delaying implementation of our climate law is out of step with what New Yorkers want,” said Kate Courtin, Senior Manager for State Climate Policy & Strategy at Environmental Defense Fund. “These results find strong support for cap-and-invest, a program that would cut pollution, deliver net savings of more than $1,000 for working families, over 300,000 new jobs and investments in clean energy at a time when New York needs reliable and affordable energy sources most.”

The survey comes amid debates over implementation of New York’s landmark climate law, the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. A cap-and-invest program would be a centerpiece of implementation. When the program was described, 55% of all respondents and 73% of Democrats surveyed said they supported the program.  

Public Policy Polling surveyed 1,766 registered voters across five New York assembly districts between April 6 and April 7.