Abstract
Energy policy is often a contentious issue in the U.S. in the areas of infrastructure, conservation, and price discrimination. From the siting of new pipelines, conservation regulations, and variable pricing based on times and usage, many policies have been met by intense opposition as well as support from a variety of sources. In this context, this study examines individual-level attributes (e.g., political ideology, environmental values, and demographic characteristics) that lead to support for or opposition to infrastructure, conservation, and price discrimination policies. The identification of demographic and value correlates of energy policy preferences is important for the successful development of energy policies. Data from 2019 random household surveys in the U.S. western states of California, Idaho, Oregon and Washington are used to examine the variation in views on a variety of energy policies. Multivariate analyses reveal that those with more liberal political ideology and people holding stronger pro-environmental values (as measured by the New Ecological Paradigm) were more likely to support conservation campaigns, energy efficiency, funding for renewable energy technology and price discrimination policies than those who held more conservative views. Several demographic variables also have a significant impact on support for or opposition to policies concerning infrastructure, conservation, and price discrimination. Younger people and people with higher levels of formal education are more likely to support voluntary energy conservation campaigns and increased funding for research into renewable energy technologies, and people with higher incomes are more supportive of requiring high-energy efficiency standards in new construction. Finally, state residency independently affected policy preferences with Idahoans’ views more consistent with political conservatives and those lower on the NEP than residents of the other three western states. These findings should be useful to policy makers as they work toward the development of energy policies.
Highlights
The United States is the second-highest global greenhouse gas (GHG) emitter [1], emitting almost15% of total GHGs into the atmosphere [2]
As was discussed in the introduction of this article, energy policy is often a very contentious issue in the U.S, especially concerning the siting and construction of energy infrastructure, energy conservation and investment policies, and variable pricing based on volume of use and the time of use
It is argued that the identification of demographic, political ideology and environmental value correlates of policy preferences can be important considerations when designing effective and implementable policy alternatives
Summary
The United States is the second-highest global greenhouse gas (GHG) emitter [1], emitting almost15% of total GHGs into the atmosphere [2]. As the United States grapples with large-scale reduction of carbon emissions (and GHG emissions generally) to address climate change, Americans have increasingly supported energy policies that will lessen the carbon footprint. Examining which policies Americans will support to transition to clean energy is a bit more nuanced. While a majority of scientists (65%) support nuclear energy as part of a clean energy portfolio, only 45% of the public support nuclear [5] with 53% of Americans believing nuclear energy is “harmful” [4]. While overall support for a clean energy transition is positive, obtaining the right mix of infrastructural, conservation, and pricing policies can depend, in part, on public support or opposition to different policy tools
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