Despite President Biden making climate change a central issue of his administration, only a small share of Americans in a new poll said they have heard a lot about his plans.
The CBS News/YouGov poll, released Monday, found that 45 percent of Americans said climate change is a very important issue. However, only 10 percent of respondents who think the issue is critical said they have either heard or read a lot about what the Biden administration has done to address it.
Nearly half who said climate change is important said they have not heard or have heard very little on what the Biden administration has done on the issue. Another 41 percent said they have heard some of what the administration has done.
Among those who believe climate change is important, 42 percent said Biden has done too little to address the issue. Roughly 26 percent said he has done the right amount and 4 percent said he has done too much, according to the poll.
Respondents were mostly split when asked whether they favored Biden’s or former President Trump’s polices on climate change. Thirty-six percent said they favored Biden’s, 35 percent favored Trump’s and 29 percent said they favored neither.
More than half of respondents also said there would be no effect on climate change if either Biden or Trump was elected in November. About 44 percent said Biden’s policies would make no difference, while 51 percent said the same about the former president.
Just more than 30 percent said Biden’s police would slow down the rate of climate change, while 30 percent said Trump’s policies would increase the rate of climate change.
The poll came out ahead of Biden’s Earth Day remarks Monday, where he touted his administration’s environmental record. He highlighted the establishment of a Civilian Climate Corps and a $7 billion federal program to expand access to rooftop solar power as part of his accomplishments.
His administration has also leaned heavily on the U.S. making the switch from gas-powered cars to electric vehicles.
The CBS/YouGov poll was conducted among 2,230 U.S. adults from April 16-19 and has a margin of error of 2.7 percentage points.