Voters Blame Oil and Gas Companies for High Energy Prices, Are Optimistic About the Clean Energy Industry
Over the last two years, oil and gas companies have posted record profits, with companies like ExxonMobil, Chevron, and Shell all reporting historic earnings in the billions of dollars. Meanwhile, American consumers have felt the pinch as gas prices have fluctuated — reaching a record high of $5.02 a gallon in 2022.
New polling from Data for Progress, Climate Power, and Fossil Free Media finds that voters strongly blame high energy prices on large oil companies and their CEOs, and believe these companies have too much power in government. Yet, voters remain optimistic about a transition away from fossil fuels and toward clean energy.
When asked whom they blame for higher energy prices, voters assign “a great deal” of blame to members of OPEC+ (47%), market instability driven by global conflict (42%), oil and gas CEOs (42%), and oil and gas companies generally (39%).
Three-quarters of voters, including majorities of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents, further agree with the following statement: “CEOs of fossil fuel companies are taking advantage of skyrocketing energy prices caused by conflict in Ukraine and the Middle East.”
Voters generally agree that oil and gas company CEOs have too much power (63%) in the U.S. political system, including 77% of Democrats and 64% of Independents. When asked whom they trust more to hold these companies accountable for high gas prices and home energy costs, 33% say Democrats in Congress, compared with 25% who trust Republicans in Congress more, and a plurality (36%) who trust neither.
While only 35% of voters trust oil and gas companies to adhere to pollution reduction promises without oversight and enforcement, there is strong voter appetite for the government making polluters pay. Three-quarters of voters would support making oil and gas companies pay a tax on their excess profits, while 70% would support making polluters pay for climate damages. Notably, majorities of Independents and Republicans support both of these proposals.
To assess whether voters view a tradeoff between building out clean energy and fossil fuel production when informed about domestic oil production, we conducted a split test which randomized treatments across respondents. Half of respondents were assigned to read an argument prioritizing investments in clean energy after stating that U.S. oil production is currently at a record level; the other half of respondents were assigned to only read the argument about clean energy buildout, without mention of oil production. All respondents then also read a statement that called for more drilling to increase oil and gas production.
With both halves of the split test, we find that 56% of respondents agree that clean energy buildout can strengthen energy independence while lowering costs for American families, while between 36% and 37% agree that greenlighting additional oil and gas drilling will strengthen energy independence and lead to energy dominance.
Indeed, the survey also finds that 68% of voters view the growth of the clean energy industry as a positive economic force, with 58% believing it will be a greater driver of job creation than the fossil fuel industry (34%). However, a plurality of voters (44%) think that the rollout of renewable energy is taking place “too slowly,” including 63% of Democrats and 47% of Independents, compared with only 20% who are concerned about the rollout expanding “too quickly.”
After more than two years of high energy prices and record profits, this polling reflects a general distrust of oil and gas companies. Voters support holding these companies accountable for the damage they cause to the climate, and see the expansion of clean energy production as an overall benefit to the American economy.
Survey Methodology
From October 20 to 21, 2023, Data for Progress, in collaboration with Climate Power and Fossil Free Media, conducted a survey of 1,222 likely voters nationally using web panel respondents. The sample was weighted to be representative of likely voters by age, gender, education, race, geography, and voting history. The survey was conducted in English. The margin of error is ±3 percentage points.