Energy Policy vs. Climate Dogma: Why the Voters Aren’t Marching to the Green Revolution’s Tune
8 hours ago
Charles Rotter
This analysis draws on the recent survey research conducted and published by Roger Pielke Jr. and Ruy Teixeira in their report, The Science vs. the Narrative vs. the Voters: Clarifying the Public Debate Around Energy and Climate, released through the American Enterprise Institute. Pielke and Teixeira—well known for their commitment to empirical rigor over popular narrative—commissioned the AEI 2024 Energy/Climate Survey to cut through the confusion surrounding American attitudes on climate and energy. Their work, summarized and discussed here, sheds light on the true state of public opinion—grounding the debate in data, not dogma. For further details and direct commentary from the authors, see Roger Pielke Jr.’s discussion on his Substack: What Americans Really Think About Energy and Climate.
This survey is a much-needed injection of empirical reality into a debate that has veered off into the land of magical thinking, group hysteria, and, frankly, wishful technocratic authoritarianism. The survey cuts through the fog of talking points and exposes the gaping chasm between what actual voters think, what the science technically claims, and the overwrought narrative hawked daily by politicians, media, and green activists.
Let’s begin by examining the survey’s core findings. Over 3,000 registered voters were asked about their views on extreme weather, climate projections, energy priorities, willingness to bear the costs of fighting climate change, and their own consumer behavior. The findings are, to put it charitably, an embarrassment for central planners who fancy themselves philosopher-kings of the energy transition.
First, the American public does not support a “rapid elimination of fossil fuels.” In fact, the majority backs an “all-of-the-above” energy policy—one that includes not just solar and wind, but also natural gas, oil, and even nuclear energy. This is not some fluke. It is the consistent preference of nearly every demographic group. According to the survey, “a majority of each group prefers an energy strategy characterized as ‘all of the above’ versus a ‘rapid green transition’ or opposition to ‘green energy projects’”. Even among Democrats, the appetite for ditching fossil fuels entirely is, at best, lukewarm.
The “narrative,” as the authors describe it, is the high-octane stuff peddled by politicians, NGOs, and a media industry that has made a business model out of catastrophe. It is the belief that, unless we immediately decarbonize everything, humanity will plunge off a “climate tipping point” into apocalypse. The problem, as the survey finds, is that this is not only unsupported by the scientific consensus (yes, even the IPCC steers clear of doomsday language), but it’s also not shared by the voters whom these activists and bureaucrats claim to represent.
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2025/07/09/energy-policy-vs-climate-dogma-why-the-voters-arent-marching-to-the-green-revolutions-tune/
