Majority of Americans Willing to Foot the Bill to Fight Global Warming

Americans are willing to bear the costs of combating climate change, and most are more likely to support a candidate seeking to address the issue.

By an almost two-to-one margin, 62 percent to 33 percent, Americans say they would pay more for energy if it would mean a reduction in pollution from carbon emissions, according to the Bloomberg National Poll.

While Republicans were split, with 46 percent willing to pay more and 49 percent opposed to it, 82 percent of Democrats and 60 percent of independents say they’d accept higher bills.

“We’re already hitting 110 degrees here,” said Larry McNamed, a 44-year-old independent in Henderson, Nevada. “A lot of people are trying to sweep this under the rug, but we need to do something. It’s only going to get hotter.”

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“It is a rare poll where people responding will stand up and say ‘tax me,’” said J. Ann Selzer, founder of Des Moines, Iowa-based Selzer & Co., which conducted the June 6-9 poll of 1,005 U.S. adults that has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.