By Nikki Marrone ’20
The Green New Deal is a series of environmental policies targeted at combating climate change, spearheaded by United States Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The Green New Deal encompasses issues ranging from eliminating global greenhouse gas emissions to addressing socio-economic and racial issues. The Green New Deal was the first piece of legislation of its kind and garnered much public attention as partisans reframed the issue from multiple vantage points. In early 2019, the resolution was eventually blocked in the Senate.
The Bucknell Institute for Public Policy has monitored attitudes on the Green New Deal since its introduction into American political discourse. In two nationally representative surveys, conducted by YouGov.com, the we asked individuals to assess how well they felt certain phrases described the Green New Deal. The question batteries read as follows:
How well do you think each of the following phrases describes the “Green New Deal?” (very well, somewhat well, not very well, not well at all).
- It is necessary to combat climate change
- It will make it harder for consumers to buy what they want to buy
- It will make life better for the working class
- It will reduce income inequality
- It is politically moderate
- It is politically socialist
- It has a high chance of becoming law in the near future
We examined the results through the lens of political party affiliation in order to monitor the partisan effect on perceptions of the Green New Deal throughout time. The following results are from the Bucknell Institute for Public Policy’s spring 2019 survey and fall 2019 survey.
When examining the results of the spring 2019 survey, 53% of Democrats and 10% of Republicans felt that the phrase “it is necessary to combat climate change” describes the Green New Deal “very well.” Whereas, 9% of Democrats and 67% of Republicans felt that phrase describes the Green New Deal “not well at all.”
When asked how well the phrase “it has a high chance of becoming law in the near future” describes the Green New Deal, 13% of Democrats and 8% of Republicans said this statement described the Green New Deal “very well.” In juxtaposition, 43% of Democrats and 72% of Republicans answered “not well at all.”
When examining the results of the fall 2019 survey, 65% of Democrats and 22% of Republicans felt that the phrase “it is necessary to combat climate change” describes the Green New Deal “very well.” On the other hand, 7% of Democrats and 55% of Republicans felt that phrase describes the Green New Deal “not well at all.”
As for how the phrase “it has a high chance of becoming law in the near future” describes the Green New Deal, 22% of Democrats and 18% of Republicans said this statement describes the Green New Deal “very well.” In juxtaposition, 31% of Democrats and 65% of Republicans answered that this phrase describes the Green New Deal “not well at all.”
Studying the timeline of public opinion on the Green New Deal has provided a context for how partisan polarization continues to stagnate environmental policies. While the Green New Deal is a unique, and arguably radical, set of environmental policies, it has altered the discussion on climate change and our responsibility to it. The partisan divide is evident in both surveys, regardless of which statement was examined. It is important to note that the high level of agreement that the Green New Deal is unlikely to be passed into law shows an understanding of the political hurdles one would have to overcome in order to implement such a revolutionary and unprecedented policy package.