Terrorism and Jobs Outshine Climate as Top Issues — WSJ/NBC Poll By Amy Harder

Posted By on December 15th, 2015

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2015/12/14/terrorism-and-jobs-outshine-climate-as-top-issues-wsjnbc-poll/

A lot of people care about climate change, but not nearly as much as they do about other issues, according to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll.

Just 7% of respondents said they think climate change is the top issue the federal government should address, with other issues, namely terrorism and the economy, at the top of the list. When asked specifically about climate change, closer to half — 41% — of respondents said they support taking immediate steps to address the problem.

The poll underscores a challenge facing President Barack Obama and other politicians who are pushing sweeping government actions to address climate change: How to make the case for a continued, concerted focus on an issue when most voters prefer a government focus on other things?

The chance timing of the United Nations global climate change conference in Paris coming two weeks after terrorists killed 130 people in that same city has fueled a political debate about which threat is greater and which the Obama administration should focus on more, an either/or dynamic White House officials reject.

“They’re both critically important,” said Ben Rhodes, Mr. Obama’s deputy national security adviser, at a press briefing during the U.N. climate talks, which concluded this past weekend. “And we have to do both at the same time. And they pose different threats.”

According to the WSJ/NBC poll, 40% of respondents picked national security and terrorism as their top choice for government action. Job creation and economic growth came in second, with 23% respondents picking it as their top choice.

Government spending and healthcare followed next, with only immigration and religious/moral values ranking below climate change.

The poll results diverged sharply along party lines, reflecting years of partisanship and ideological divide on climate change. Even so, just 30% of Democrats picked climate as the issue the government should address. Barely any GOP primary voters (3%) said so, while 11% of swing voters concurred.

When asked in isolation, the support for action on climate change increased in both parties, with 62% of Democratic primary voters saying they support taking immediate action to address the issue and 13% of GOP primary voters agreeing.

The question was asked of 1,000 respondents and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

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