Few Republicans and Republican-leaning independents express deep concern about addressing climate change: Only 10% call it a top personal concern, compared with 49% of Democrats and Democratic leaners, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults.
Republicans by and large do not see a strong link between human activity and climate change: Just 17% say human activities contribute a great deal to climate change. When it comes to policy proposals aimed at reducing the effects of climate change, large majorities of Republicans favor planting about a trillion trees around the world to absorb carbon emissions and providing a tax credit to encourage businesses to develop technology to capture and store carbon emissions. Both proposals have received support from Republican members of Congress.
There is less widespread GOP support for other climate policies, such as tougher restrictions on power plant emissions, taxing corporations based on the carbon emissions they produce, and tougher fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks. Still, about half or more of Republicans say they favor these proposals.
