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Opinion Poll: Climate Change a vote changer – Support for 45 pc climate targets and ETS

May 3, 2016 at 8:25 pm John Englart 2 comments

Essential Vision Poll on Labor’s 45% climate target and ETS

Update 16 May: climate change a vote changer

Polling done by Essential vision shows that most people approve the higher climate targets and the proposed Emissions Trading Scheme in Labor’s climate plan. The polling was published on May 3 and supports previous polling in March that a majority of Australians want greater action on climate change.

The survey found that 57 per cent of voting age people approved of the Labor Party’s higher climate targets that more closely match the science and carbon emissions policy. Just 21 per cent disapproved of these targets and implementation of an ETS.

Those more likely to approve were Labor voters (76 per cent), Greens voters (88 per cent) and young voters aged 18-34 (70 per cent). Those more likely to disapprove were Liberal/National voters (44 per cent) and voters aged 55+ (39 per cent).

The Question:
Q. The Labor Party recently announced their policy to tackle climate change which includes a target of reducing Australia’s carbon emissions by 45% by 2030 (compared to the Coalition Government’s target of 26-28%) and introducing an emissions trading scheme. Do you approve or disapprove of this policy?

See Essential Vision Poll results.

Update 16 May: climate change a vote changer

The Age details polling done under contract by ReachTEL for Environmental groups that climate change is a vote changing issue this election. (Election 2016: Climate change policy a vote winner for majority of Australians)

According to the ReachTEL survey of 2400 people, conducted for a coalition of environmental groups, 64 per cent of respondents said they would be more likely to vote for a party seeking 100 per cent renewable energy in 20 years and 48 per cent said they would be more likely to support a party reducing Australia’s net carbon emissions to zero by 2050.

56.4 per cent of people want the government to do more on climate change while 27.8 per cent think the current settings are right and 9.9 per cent want less action.

The poll also found:

• 56.1 per cent of people would be more likely to support a party phasing out coal-fired power, compared to 27.2 per cent unchanged and 16.6 per cent who would be less supportive.
• 66.9 per cent would be more likely to vote for a party that strengthens environmental laws protecting sites like the Great Barrier Reef, while 23.1 per cent are unaffected and 10 per cent would be less likely to support them.
• 61.9 per cent of people agree that the burning of fossil fuels causes global warming and is destroying the Great Barrier Reef, while 23.2 per cent disagree and 14.9 per cent don’t know.

The Treasurer failed to mention climate change once or the need to transition to a low carbon economy, in his budget speech. Both the Greens and Labor highlighted the issue in their budget reply speeches.

Briefly the climate policies of the three main parties:

• The Coalition: a 26-28 per cent cut on 2005 emission levels by 2030 using Emissions Reduction Fund and 23 per cent clean energy production by 2020. The ERF is insufficient to meet the 2030 targets, with no further funding allocation.
• Labor: proposed 45 per cent cut on 2005 levels by 2030 through emissions trading and restrictions on land clearing.
• The Greens: a 63-82 cut to emissions and 90 per cent renewable energy by 2030.

At the moment The coalition Government has committed to review climate policies and targets in 2017 with a global stocktake of action to be undertaken by the UNFCCC during 2018. Ramping up Pre-2020 climate action ambition is likely to be an important area of discussion for the next international climate conference – COP22 – in Marrakech in November 2016. The Climate Change Authority recommended in 2014 that the conditions had been met for increasing our 2020 target to 19 per cent.

Entry filed under: news, Vote Climate. Tags: ausvotes, ausvotes2016, climate targets, ETS, Labor, opinion poll.