Half of Republicans support carbon limits, survey finds

Half of Republican voters support policies that limit carbon dioxide emissions believed to cause global warming, an Associated Press poll found.

Six in 10 Americans overall support the regulation of carbon emissions, although the poll did not ask them how to regulate them.

{mosads}Almost half of Republicans in the survey said the United States should lead globally in the fight against climate change, even if other countries do not act.

The poll shows that Republican voters are not as united against environmental policies as national Republican leaders are, the AP reported.

But climate change ranks near the bottom of environmental concerns of voters in the poll, the AP said, as does the Keystone XL oil pipeline.

And voters are not as united on Keystone, nor do they feel strongly about it. Thirty-one percent favors it, and 18 percent opposes.

In addition, just over a quarter of Republicans say global warming is an extremely serious or very serious problem, compared with 64 percent of Democrats. Less than half of Republicans believe the world is getting warmer but almost three-quarters of Democrats do.

The poll is also not positive for President Obama’s strategy to work toward an international climate change pact that the Senate won’t have to approve, the AP said.

Fifty-eight percent of respondents said there should be no global deal or that the Obama administration should work with Congress on it.