New Poll: Voters are More Likely to Support Clean Energy Investments if Materials Are Made in America

Today, Data for Progress and the National Wildlife Federation released a new policy and polling series called Made Clean in America, which identifies a series of powerful and popular investments to rebuild American manufacturing and tackle climate change.

The series outlines a set of policies that can incentivize clean manufacturing incentives, invest in industrial decarbonization, strengthen semiconductor supply chains, and ensure government R&D creates high-quality American jobs. We find overwhelming, bipartisan support for these measures, including:

• Federal procurement of clean materials (+43 overall, +3 among Republicans)

• Clean energy supply chain incentives (+49 overall, +15 among Republicans)

• Strengthening the Bayh-Dole Act to ensure federal R&D leads to domestic manufacturing (+65 overall, +64 among Republicans)

• A multi-billion dollar investment in semiconductor supply chains (+65 overall, +54 among Republicans)

• Domestic content requirements for clean energy incentives (+60 overall, +38 among Republicans)

Policymakers should feel confident investing in clean manufacturing and domestic content provisions, like the ones being considered for budget reconciliation. To further understand what drives this public support for domestic manufacturing investments, the project also includes polling on "Made in America" provisions. It finds:

• 63% of voters say they are more likely to support government investments in clean energy if the materials are made in America.

• 76% of voters think clean energy companies should be required to meet certain labor and wage standards to receive government incentives.

• 69% of voters support a "carbon border tax" policy that would place a fee on goods imported from countries that have more relaxed environmental standards than the United States.
  

To tackle the climate crisis and create millions of American jobs, Congress can and should take a much stronger role in boosting clean American manufacturing. Read the full polling tabs and methodology here.