November 16, 2020

Paris Climate Accord

One of the differences between candidates Trump and Biden was their opinion on the Paris Climate Accord: under Trump’s presidency the US left the accord, while under a Biden presidency, the US will re-enter the accord.

We conducted a survey to learn what our users think of the Paris Climate Accord. The answers that our users could choose from can roughly be summarized as:

We should rejoin and adhere fully to it.
We should rejoin and adhere to it similar to how other large economies adhere to it.
We should rejoin, but balance adherence with economic interests.
We should not rejoin.
We should never have joined.

The headline result

should rejoin and adhere to it

56%

should rejoin and adhere similar to other large nations

rejoin, but balance adherence with economic interests

should not rejoin

should never have joined

20%

See the details below →

Overall there is an approximate 70% majority who wish to rejoin. Still there is a significant minority of approximately 30% who would like us to stay out of the Paris Accord.

The crosstabs

<50k

45%

11%

10%

27%

50k-100k

58%

16%

13%

>100k

63%

24%

should rejoin and adhere to itshould rejoin and adhere similar to other large nationsrejoin, but balance adherence with economic interestsshould not rejoinshould never have joined

See the details below →

There is a divide between those with higher incomes, who more strongly support re-entering the Paris Accords, than those with lower incomes, who likely fear that this may have a negative economic impact.

The crosstabs

Dem

81%

Rep

12%

13%

60%

Ind

63%

15%

should rejoin and adhere to itshould rejoin and adhere similar to other large nationsrejoin, but balance adherence with economic interestsshould not rejoinshould never have joined

See the details below →

There is a clear partisan divide on this issue, with a large majority of Republicans (73%) rejecting the Paris Accords, while over 90% of Democrats would like to rejoin.

As joining or not is an action a President can take without Congressional support (ratifying it is a different matter), it is one of the areas where elections have consequences.

The Details

The answers as asked

Charts and tables use the short label at the start of each line.

should rejoin and adhere to it: The US should rejoin the Paris Agreement and adhere to all its requirements.
should rejoin and adhere similar to other large nations: The US should rejoin the Paris Agreement and adhere to it in approximately the same way as the other largest economies.
rejoin, but balance adherence with economic interests: The US should rejoin the Paris Agreement but balance adhering to it with economic interests.
should not rejoin: The US should not rejoin the Paris Agreement.
should never have joined: The US should never have joined the Paris Agreement.

The full crosstab table

ActiVote · Paris Climate Agreement · November 16, 2020
	414 RV	should rejoin and adhere to it	should rejoin and adhere similar to other large nations	rejoin, but balance adherence with economic interests	should not rejoin	should never have joined
National	±4.8% MoE	56%	6%	9%	8%	20%
Gender	Men	58%	7%	4%	9%	21%
Gender	Women	52%	4%	17%	8%	18%
Age	18-29	63%	5%	11%	11%	10%
	30-49	54%	6%	6%	2%	33%
	50-64	48%	10%	11%	12%	19%
	65+	63%	0%	10%	12%	16%
Ethnicity	White	45%	7%	11%	10%	27%
	Black	86%	2%	0%	6%	6%
	Latino	64%	3%	7%	13%	13%
Education	High school	64%	1%	8%	5%	21%
	Some college	57%	7%	6%	11%	19%
	Bachelor's	47%	9%	14%	8%	21%
Income	<50k	45%	7%	11%	10%	27%
	50k-100k	58%	5%	16%	9%	13%
	>100k	63%	7%	1%	6%	24%
Affiliation	Dem	81%	5%	8%	5%	0%
	Rep	12%	4%	12%	13%	60%
	Ind	63%	7%	15%	7%	9%
Region	Dark Red	46%	0%	8%	17%	29%
	Light Red	65%	8%	4%	6%	17%
	Swing	51%	9%	7%	12%	22%
	Light Blue	66%	6%	9%	0%	19%
	Dark Blue	53%	5%	17%	7%	17%

Methodology. Fielded November 2020 among 414 registered voters nationwide. Responses weighted by Demographics and Spectrum. Average expected error ±4.8%. See Why trust our polls? for the methodology, disclosures and accuracy record.