New National Survey: Latinos Overwhelmingly Support Paris Agreement, Clean Power Plan and a Clean Energy Economy #LatinoSurvey

On November 22nd, the Sierra Club and GreenLatinos released the results of a new post-election survey which finds that 88 percent of Latino voters want the United States to meet its commitments under the Paris Agreement, and 82 percent back the continuation of the Clean Power Plan. The national poll, conducted by Myers Research, 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.

“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,” said Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune. “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.”

Latinos are cultural conservationists.  Our belief that we are the stewards of our earth is not based on a membership, it is passed down from generation to generation as part of our proud heritage.” said GreenLatinos President & CEO Mark Magaña. “This poll affirms that Latinos belief that we have ‘a moral responsibility to take care of the earth’ is virtually unanimous and that we expect our elected and appointed officials to maintain and enforce vital protections of our air, water and climate.”

The survey —conducted among 1000 Latinos who voted in the election this month— finds that respondents almost unanimously (97%) believe they have “a moral responsibility to take care of the earth.” It also revealed that pollution and global climate change are their top environmental concerns. In fact, Latino voters’ concern about climate change has intensified since the Sierra Club and the National Council of La Raza’s 2012 Latinos and the Environment Survey.

“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,” remarked pollster Andrew Myers of Myers Research.

Some key findings:

• Nearly nine-in-ten respondents (89%) report that the environment and pollution impact their family’s quality of life.
• 77% are concerned about climate change, including a majority (53%) who are very concerned.  Similarly, 88% of respondents consider it important that the United States meet its commitments to reduce carbon pollution under the 2015 Paris Agreement (71% call it “very important”).
• Majorities 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).
• 82% would like to see implementation of the Clean Power Plan (58% strongly).
• 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 between November 9th and 13th. 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. To read the executive summary or find the full poll results, visit www.sierraclub.org/LatinoSurvey.