Support for government action on climate change

Q. To what extent would you support or oppose the following policy proposals if they were adopted by the Federal Government?

TOTAL: Support	Nov’20	Jan’20
Requiring mining companies to fund bushfire hazard reduction	80%	68%
Setting a zero-carbon pollution target for 2030	75%	64%
Setting a zero-carbon pollution target for 2050	81%	71%
Ban all political donations from fossil fuel companies	72%	62%
Accelerate development of new industries and jobs that are powered by renewable energy	87%	81%
New coal mines opening in Australia	49%	–
The fossil fuel industry receiving taxpayer funded subsidies	42%	–

• Support for government action on climate change has increased since earlier this year across the policy proposals put forward.

	TOTAL: Support	TOTAL: Oppose	Strongly support	Somewhat support	Somewhat oppose	Strongly oppose
Requiring mining companies to fund bushfire hazard reduction	80%	20%	31%	49%	15%	5%
Setting a zero-carbon pollution target for 2030	75%	25%	35%	40%	16%	8%
Setting a zero-carbon pollution target for 2050	81%	19%	36%	44%	13%	7%
Ban all political donations from fossil fuel companies	72%	28%	30%	42%	21%	7%
Accelerate development of new industries and jobs that are powered by renewable energy	87%	13%	44%	43%	9%	4%
New coal mines opening in Australia	49%	51%	15%	34%	27%	24%
The fossil fuel industry receiving taxpayer funded subsidies	42%	58%	11%	31%	34%	24%

• 87% would support accelerating development of new industries and jobs that are powered by renewable energy and 80% would support requiring mining companies to fund bushfire hazard reduction.
• 81% would support setting a zero-carbon pollution target for 2050 and 75% would support setting this target for 2030.
• The most contentious issues are new coal mines opening in Australia (49% support vs 51% oppose) and the fossil fuel industry receiving taxpayer funded subsidies (42% support vs 58% oppose), where we see more of a divide between support and opposition compared to other policy proposals.

TOTAL: Support	Total	Gender		Age Group					Federal Voting Intention
		Male	Female		18-34	35-54	55+	Labor		TOTAL: Coalition	Greens	TOTAL: Other
Requiring mining companies to fund bushfire hazard reduction	80%	75%	85%		76%	83%	80%	82%		79%	88%	77%
Setting a zero-carbon pollution target for 2030	75%	69%	81%		74%	81%	72%	82%		67%	93%	74%
Setting a zero-carbon pollution target for 2050	81%	78%	83%		81%	84%	77%	88%		75%	88%	72%
Ban all political donations from fossil fuel companies	72%	71%	73%		71%	78%	67%	74%		65%	87%	75%
Accelerate development of new industries and jobs that are powered by renewable energy	87%	84%	89%		81%	88%	91%	88%		87%	92%	82%
New coal mines opening in Australia	49%	56%	42%		53%	54%	41%	43%		57%	23%	52%
The fossil fuel industry receiving taxpayer funded subsidies	42%	43%	40%		48%	48%	29%	41%		44%	23%	40%
Base (n)	1,034	528	506		329	320	385	322		430	88	107

• Support for government action on climate change is higher among women compared to men, especially regarding setting a zero-carbon pollution target for 2030 (81% to 69%) and requiring mining companies to fund bushfire hazard reduction (85% to 75%). Women are less likely than men to support the opening of new coal mines (49% to 56%).
• Coalition voters have the highest support for opening new coal mines (57% compared to 52% minor party voters, 43% Labor voters and 23% Greens voters).