New Polling Shows Latino Voters Support Investing in Clean Energy to Address High Cost of Living

Nearly three-quarters of Latino voters believe clean energy investments create jobs and reduce energy costs

To view the poll memo, click here

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A new poll from Data for Progress (DFP) and Climate Power En Acción shows that Latino voters support clean energy investments that address the high cost of living. The findings reveal that Latino voters recognize how extreme weather events and climate change-driven pollution directly impact kitchen table costs. They also view taking climate action, including expanding the clean energy industry, as necessary. Nearly three-quarters (73%) of Latino voters agree that we can lower energy costs for everyone by investing in the clean energy industry while creating good jobs.

“Latino voters feel the impacts of the climate crisis in their wallets. Higher electricity bills, increased home insurance premiums due to extreme weather and higher grocery prices due to agricultural disruption are all taking a toll. We need climate action and the transition to clean energy to ease these impacts now,” said Luis Sanchez Armas, National Press Secretary of Climate Power En Acción. “We can achieve this through President Biden’s clean energy plan, which is creating good-paying jobs in our communities, helping us transition to a fairer, cleaner, and healthier economy and mitigating the life-threatening effects of the climate crisis while increasing our American-made, domestic energy production.”

DFP and Climate Power En Acción surveyed 1,251 Latino voters nationally, including an oversample of Latino voters in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, and Pennsylvania, offering the survey in English and Spanish. The poll also found that Latino voters are concerned about climate change and related issues. They view fossil fuel companies as often compromising the health and safety of their workers and want to hold oil and gas companies and their CEOs accountable for their contributions to the climate crisis. In addition, Latino voters under 45 prefer expanding clean energy over fossil fuels and view the clean energy industry as offering cost-saving and job creation benefits.

Below are key takeaways from the Latino Voter Polling on Costs and Clean Energy:

Rising Costs Are Top of Mind for Latino Voters:

• Nearly half of all likely Latino voters (48%) rank the cost of living as one of their three top issues. In addition to immigration and crime, the other top issues for voters are related to the cost of living.
• When asking voters about their spending habits on essential goods and services, 82% of Latino voters say they spend more on food and groceries than a year ago. Similarly, 66% say they spend more on home electricity bills, 65% on gas for their vehicles, 63% on home gas heating costs, 61% on housing, and 50% on home insurance costs.

Latino Voters Are Concerned About the Impact Climate Change Is Having on Their Everyday Costs:

• Latino voters remain very concerned about the impacts of continued reliance on fossil fuels, such as air and water pollution, climate change, and extreme weather events. This level of concern is about equal to or slightly higher than Latinos’ recognition of the impacts of climate change on the issues they care about and their view that climate action is essential.

Latino Voters Are Extremely Concerned About Pollution, Climate, and Extreme Weather Events:

• Latino voters are broadly concerned about a range of impacts, including air and water pollution (85%), climate change (77%), extreme weather events (77%), and increased migration as a result of climate change (71%). 
• Only 6% of voters expressed no concern about potential climate change impacts.

Nearly Three-Fourths of Latino Voters Think We Need to Prioritize Investments in the Clean Energy Sector:

• 73% of Latino voters agree that focusing on the clean energy industry can lower energy costs for everyone while creating good jobs.
  • 81% of Democrats, 77% of Independents, and 56% of Republicans agree with this statement. 
  • 77% of Latino voters under 45 — who are likely to see the direct impacts of an expanding clean energy industry — agree with this statement, compared with 70% of voters 45 and over.

• Latino voters, overall and across party lines, support investing in clean energy to ensure American energy independence and make climate change a top priority.
• 58% percent of Latino voters think investing in clean energy provides families with sustainable and affordable energy options that reduce reliance on fossil fuels.
• 61% of voters under 45 prefer investing in clean energy over pursuing energy expansion at the cost of deprioritizing climate goals.

Latino Voters Assign More Responsibility for Higher Energy Bills to Oil and Gas CEOs and Executives and Utility Companies Than Other Actors

• More than three in four Latino voters place at least “some” blame on oil and gas CEOs and executives for higher energy prices. 
• Sentiment against oil and gas executives is particularly strong among Latino voters, with 42% blaming CEOs to a great extent.
• Similarly, 76% of voters also place “a great deal” or “some” blame on utility companies. Meanwhile, 63% of voters blame Biden.