Survey: Most would pay more to reduce carbon emissions

Most United States residents are willing to pay more for energy if it meant reducing emissions of carbon dioxide, according to a Bloomberg News poll.

The survey conducted June 6-9 found that 62 percent of respondents would pay more to reduce carbon pollution, compared with 33 percent who would not, a nearly two-to-one margin.

{mosads}Republicans were slightly more likely to oppose higher energy prices, with 49 percent against it and 46 percent supporting, Bloomberg said. But 82 percent of Democrats were open to paying more, along with 60 percent of independents.

The survey started days after the Obama administration unveiled proposed regulations to reduce carbon emissions from power plants by about 30 percent.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) predicted that energy efficiency measures that the rules incentivize would reduce electricity bills by about 8 percent by 2030. But Barclays estimates that rates would grow by 10 percent by 2030 under the proposal, Bloomberg said.

The poll also found that most in the United States see climate change as a threat. Forty-six percent see it as a “major” threat, while another 27 percent judge it as a “minor” threat.

About half of respondents want to see federal government policies in the next decade to fight climate change.