Roughly 6 in 10 say EVs only help address climate change a little or not at all: Gallup

A new poll found that more than 60 percent of Americans said that they believe electric vehicles (EVs) only help address climate change a little or not at all.

The Gallup poll published Wednesday found that 35 percent of respondents said that electric vehicles address climate change “only a little,” while 26 percent said they do not address climate change at all.

Just 12 percent said that electric vehicles help a “great deal” and 27 percent said that they help a “fair amount.”

Respondents’ opinions were split among party lines, with 68 percent of Democrats saying electric vehicles help a “great deal” or “fair amount,” compared to only 12 percent of Republicans.

And nearly 90 percent of Republicans said that electric vehicles only help address climate change a little or not at all while 32 percent of Democrats agreed.

The poll also found that 41 percent of Americans said that they would not buy an electric vehicle, and 43 percent said that they might consider one in the future. Only 4 percent of respondents said they currently own an electric vehicle and 12 percent said that they are “seriously” considering purchasing one.

Pollsters found that 71 percent of Republican respondents said that they would never buy an electric vehicle and 17 percent of Democrats gave the same answer. Twenty-two percent of Democrats said that they were “seriously” considering buying an electric vehicle, as did just 1 percent of Republicans.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, electric vehicles are usually responsible for lower greenhouse gasses than an average gasoline-powered car. Fifteen states have proposed banning gas-powered vehicles by 2035, a move to create zero-emissions on transportation to address rising climate concerns.

The Gallup poll of 1,009 respondents, conducted between March 1 and 23, has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.