About three in five Marylanders want state lawmakers to pass legislation to cut greenhouse gas emissions 60% by 2030, and more than half said they would support a candidate who prioritized clean energy policies, according to a new poll by Gonzales Research & Marketing Strategies.
The poll was commissioned by the Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) Action Fund, which also helped organize a demonstration last week on the first day of the Maryland General Assembly’s legislative session, urging lawmakers to implement changes to address climate change. Among the issues activists are calling on legislators to tackle are a 60% cut to greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, and the full electrification of new buildings.
Gonzales Media & Research Services interviewed 807 Maryland registered voters by phone from Dec. 20-30. The poll has a margin of error of plus-or-minus 3.5 percentage points.
Of the sample of Maryland registered voters who were surveyed, 63% said state lawmakers should prioritize clean energy policies that cut greenhouse gas emissions by 60% by 2030. Meanwhile, 30% said the legislature should not prioritize clean energy policies, and 7% did not offer an opinion.
More than two-thirds of Marylanders said fighting climate change is as important (51%) or more important (17%) as a political priority than health care, education, the economy, and COVID-19. Less than one-third of Marylanders said fighting climate change is less important to them, while 3% did not provide an answer.
With Maryland’s primary elections just over six months away, more than half of voters said they would be more likely to vote for a candidate who prioritizes clean energy policies, including 34% who are “much” more likely and 19% who are “somewhat” more likely.
About one in five voters said they would be less likely to vote for a candidate who prioritizes clean energy policies, including 14% who are “much” less likely and 5% who are “somewhat less likely. The remaining 28% of voters said a candidate’s stance on clean energy policies would not affect their vote.
A majority of voters are in favor of requiring all new buildings in Maryland to be powered with electric energy systems – including systems for heating and cooling homes, hot water, and cook stoves – instead of burning oil, gas or propane. Among those voters, 29% “strongly” support the idea and 25% “somewhat” support it.
However, 40% of voters oppose the electrification requirement, including 30% who “strongly” oppose it and 10% who “somewhat” oppose it. The remaining 6% of voters did not provide a response.
On the topic of full electrification of new buildings, voters were also asked specifically about requiring cook stoves in new buildings to be electric rather than gas-powered.
A majority of voters (55%) support the idea of requiring electric cook stoves in new buildings, while 37% oppose the requirement.
Mike Tidwell, director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network and CCAN Action Fund, said the poll underscores the importance of climate change mitigation efforts for Marylanders.
“Climate change is clearly on voters’ minds this year,” Tidwell said in a statement. “Voters want laws that match the urgency of the climate science. And that means lowering power bills while simultaneously cutting pollution by mandating electric-only new homes and buildings in Maryland.”
Across the board, proposals to address climate change found much greater support among Democrats than Republicans. The widest margin between those political parties was on the topic of electric cook stoves, with 80.5% of Democrats supporting the measure and 20% of Republicans supporting it – a difference of 60.5 percentage points.
The more general topic of fully electrifying new buildings also highlighted stark division between the political parties. While 78.4% of Democrats support requiring new buildings to be all-electric, only 19.6% of Republicans support such a requirement – a difference of 58.8 percentage points.
Support for candidates and policies aimed at addressing climate change was also higher among younger voters and Black voters.
In February 2021, the Maryland Department of the Environment released a plan for reducing greenhouse gas emissions 50% by 2030.
Environmental activists want the state to increase that cut to 60% by the same year.
The Maryland Commission on Climate Change also released a report in November 2021, with recommendations for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and addressing the effects of climate change. The report included recommendations to advance and incentivize the full electrification of new buildings.
Environmental advocates have proposed beginning a policy for electric-only systems in 2023, according to the CCAN Action Fund.
Polls are amazing. Not only have I never been asked to participate in one, I don’t know of anyone who has. been asked either. Product polls don’t count.