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February 3, 2020

Poll: Majority of Mass. wants state action on climate change

Photo | Courtesy of 80000 Hours Most Bay State residents want state lawmakers to take action on climate change.
By State House News Service

A majority of Massachusetts residents want to see the state take action to address climate change, and almost half think their own municipality should take the lead with local efforts, according to new poll results.

The MassINC Polling Group's survey, detailed at a Monday morning event, found 56 percent of respondents think Massachusetts should act ahead of other states, with 22 percent saying Massachusetts should act alongside other states. Four percent want the state to wait for others to act, while 12 percent said state policymakers should take no action and 6 percent were unsure.

Forty-seven percent wanted their city or town to act ahead of others, and 29 percent said their municipality should act at the same time as other cities and towns.

The poll of 2,318 people was conducted in October and November, before a handful of significant climate policy developments on Beacon Hill, including the announcement of cost estimates associated with the Transportation Climate Initiative, Gov. Charlie Baker committing the state to a goal of net-zero emissions by 2050, and the Senate's passage of emissions reduction legislation that includes carbon pricing for transportation, homes and commercial buildings.

Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Katie Theoharides said local and state officials are "stepping up" in response to residents' desire for climate leadership.

"I think where the rubber hits the road in terms of when this becomes to get more challenging is what the solutions are and how do we deploy them," Theoharides said. 

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1 Comments

Anonymous
February 5, 2020
They polled 2,318 people, and they think that that is what the majority of Mass. residents think? There is no way that is accurate. You need to actually poll at least 1/3 of the residents for a poll to be accurate. I wish these poll people would start polling across all demographics and political parties to get a more accurate record. But they do not. They put out results that do not represent an accurate portrayal, to skew the conversation.
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