Sustainability and Climate Change
Leadership, Partisanship, and Priorities
Mayors overwhelmingly agreed that climate change is due to human activities. Eighty-four percent of mayors attributed increases in Earth’s temperature to human activities rather than natural changes (see Figure 9). This is a considerably greater proportion than in the mass public. According to 2017 Gallup data, only 68 percent of the public believes that climate change is a result of pollution from human activities.1
We notice important regional and partisan differences (see Table 7). Midwestern mayors were 27 percentage points more likely than their southern counterparts to agree that climate change was a result of human activities. Generally, midwestern and northeastern mayors—in line with their general political liberalism—were more likely to attribute climate change to human activities relative to leaders of southern and western cities.
Figure 9: Climate Change Causes: Human Activity vs. Natural Causes
From what you have heard or read, do you believe increases in the Earth’s temperature over the last century are due more to the effects of pollution from human activities or natural changes in the environment that are not due to human activities?
Table 7: Belief in Causes of Climate Change, by Region
Northeast | Midwest | South | West | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Human Activities | 90% | 97% | 70% | 83% |
Natural Changes | 10% | 3% | 30% | 17% |
In keeping with the national political divide on the facts surrounding climate change, Democratic and Republican mayors strongly disagreed on the root causes of climate change (see Table 8). Democratic mayors virtually unanimously agreed that climate change stems from human activities. In contrast, Republican mayors were evenly split on the question. These views largely mirror those of the mass public, where only 40 percent of Republicans believe that human activities are responsible for climate change.2
Table 8: Belief in Causes of Climate Change, by Party
Democrats | Republicans | Others | |
---|---|---|---|
Human Activities | 95% | 50% | 79% |
Natural Changes | 5% | 50% | 21% |
Consistent with their strong belief in human-driven climate change, mayors largely agree that governments should take action to address the effects of rises in Earth’s temperature. A striking 68 percent of mayors agree that cities should play a strong role in reducing the effects of climate change, even if it means sacrificing revenues or increasing expenditures (see Figure 10). This is a slight increase from the 60 percent who agreed with this trade-off three years ago.
Figure 10: Tradeoffs: Mitigating Climate Change
Please rate how strongly you agree/disagree with the following statement: Cities should play a strong role in reducing the effects of climate change, even if it means sacrificing revenues and/or expending financial resources.
Figure 11: Mitigating Climate Change, by Party, 2014 to 20173
Nationally, opinions on climate change are highly polarized along geographic and partisan lines (see Tables 9 and 10). Mayors in the South and West are more likely to oppose making fiscal sacrifices to address climate change relative to their counterparts in the Northeast and Midwest. The highest level of support for aggressive action on climate change was among midwestern mayors: 89 percent of them agreed that cities should reduce the effects of climate change even if it comes at the expense of city financial resources. This figure is almost 20 percentage points higher than any other region.
Table 9: Cities Should Play a Strong Role in Reducing Climate Change, by Region
Northeast | Midwest | South | West | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Strongly Agree | 10% | 48% | 34% | 31% |
Agree | 60% | 41% | 21% | 29% |
Neither Agree nor Disagree | 20% | 7% | 17% | 18% |
Disagree | 10% | 0% | 10% | 18% |
Strongly Disagree | 0% | 3% | 17% | 4% |
Partisan divides regarding local action on climate change are even starker and in line with national party stances on climate change. While 84 percent of Democratic mayors agree that cities should address climate change even if it means fiscal sacrifice, only 24 percent of Republican mayors feel the same. Compared to 3 years ago, Republicans are 20 percentage points more likely to oppose the trade-off, rendering responses more polarized along party lines. Changes among Democrats were comparatively smaller; they were slightly less likely to disagree with the trade-off and more inclined to adopt a neutral stance.
Table 10: Cities Should Play a Strong Role in Reducing Climate Change, by Party
Democrats | Republicans | Others | |
---|---|---|---|
Strongly Agree | 42% | 8% | 40% |
Agree | 42% | 16% | 13% |
Neither Agree nor Disagree | 10% | 24% | 27% |
Disagree | 4% | 24% | 20% |
Strongly Disagree | 1% | 28% | 0% |
Mayors highlight a number of promising environmental policy programs that their cities are interested in pursuing. Specifically, over one-third of mayors (35 percent) prioritize reducing the number of vehicles on the road and making city assets more energy efficient. Other popular environmental programs include green/alternative energy sourcing, flood mitigation, incentives for energy efficiency in private buildings, and smart traffic lights (see Figure 12). While mayors were asked about wish list sustainability programs, many of them indicated that these two prioritized initiatives were, in fact, already being implemented in their cities. These top sustainability priorities do vary by partisan affiliation (Table 11). In particular, Democrats were more likely to opt for alternative energy-related options such as “efficiency upgrades to city assets” and “alternative energy sourcing,” while Republicans much more frequently cited “smart traffic lights to reduce congestion.” Notably, the proportions citing options such as “flood mitigation” and “reducing the number of vehicles” on the road did not vary by party.
Figure 12: Sustainability Investment: Top Two Priorities
Thinking about the environment and sustainability in and around your city, what are the top two areas you would prioritize if you could allocate a significant amount of new money?
Table 11: Sustainability Investment: Top Two Priorities, by Party
Democrats | Republicans | |
---|---|---|
Energy efficiency in private buildings | 21% | 16% |
Energy efficiency upgrades to city assets | 35% | 24% |
Flood mitigation | 20% | 24% |
Green/alternative energy sourcing | 33% | 12% |
Improved municipal water reuse/reclamation | 7% | 12% |
Increasing city green space | 8% | 12% |
More efficient/expanded recycling | 7% | 4% |
Reducing the number of vehicles on the road | 35% | 32% |
Smart traffic lights to help reduce congestion | 15% | 40% |
Water efficiency in private buildings | 4% | 4% |
A strong majority of mayors agree that a serious effort toward locally combatting climate change requires increasing residential density, updating building codes, updating municipal facilities and other capital, and replacing municipal vehicles with electrics/hybrids (see Figure 13). Just over one-half endorsed raising significant financial resources, making binding commitments to climate pacts, and inconveniencing some cars and drivers as integral to mitigating the impact of climate change. Importantly, mayors largely did not believe that fighting climate change locally necessitates costly new regulations on the private sector; only 25 percent agreed that such programs were necessary to have a local impact.
Figure 13: Fighting Climate Change: Impactful Policies
In recent years, many mayors have pledged to fight climate change at the municipal level. A serious and sustained effort to make a meaningful impact in my city would require…
Democrats and Republicans shared some of the most commonly endorsed items on this list. For instance, 96 and 89 percent, respectively, agreed on “Updating municipal facilities;” 96 and 84 percent agreed on “Updating building codes;” and 84 and 79 percent agreed on “Increasing residential density.” On the other hand, there were also some strong partisan divides on the steps to be taken as part of a serious effort to address climate change locally. In particular, Democrats were 38 percentage points more likely to agree or disagree with “Inconveniencing some cars and drivers;” 46 points more likely to agree with “Making binding commitments to climate pacts;” and 21 points more likely to agree with “Instituting costly regulations on the private sector.”
Table 12: Fighting Climate Change: Agree or Strongly Agree By Party
Democrats | Republicans | |
---|---|---|
Inconveniencing some cars and drivers | 71% | 33% |
Increasing residential density and upzoning existing neighborhoods | 84% | 79% |
Instituting new costly regulations on the private sector | 26% | 5% |
Making binding commitments to climate pacts or networks | 72% | 26% |
Raising or reallocating significant financial resources | 74% | 63% |
Replacing municipal vehicles with electrics/hybrids | 93% | 89% |
Updating building codes | 96% | 84% |
Updating municipal facilities and other capital | 96% | 89% |