Report: Voters more likely to back climate-friendly candidate

Registered voters are three times more likely to vote against a candidate who opposes government action to mitigate climate change, according to a new study.

The study, conducted by Yale University, found that voters are two and a half times more likely to vote for a congressional or presidential candidate who backs action on global warming.

{mosads}The Yale report states that while Democrats are “more convinced” that human-caused climate change is occurring and are more eager to back climate policies, Republicans are “deeply” divided on the subject.

Roughly 61 percent of liberal or moderate Republican say climate change is happening, compared to 28 percent of conservative Republicans.

And 65 percent of liberal or moderate Republicans are in favor of carbon dioxide limits on existing power plants to help mitigate climate change, Yale reports, compared to 31 percent of conservative Republicans.

In Congress, things are little different when it comes to those who believe in climate change and those who are skeptics.

The issue is almost completely divided along party lines in the Senate and House, with Democrats backing climate change policies and Republicans fighting to block President Obama’s climate agenda, which they say will hurt the economy and kill energy jobs.