Nearly Seven in Ten Hawai’i Residents Think Fossil Fuel Companies Should Pay For Global Warming Damages, According to New Poll
Hawaii Support for Fossil Fuel Company Climate Change Responsibility Ranked Highest Among U.S. States
WASHINGTON (June 19, 2019)— Ahead of next week’s U.S. mayors’ climate change summit in Honolulu, a new survey found that nearly seven in ten adults in Hawai’i think fossil fuel companies should pay for some portion of global warming damages. The nationally representative survey conducted by Yale University’s Program on Climate Change Communications (YPCCC) and supported by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) asked Americans across the country their opinions about responsibility for global warming damages. YPCCC polled 5,131 adults in five waves from November 2018 to January 2019 and used a geographic and statistical model developed by its team of scientists to downscale public opinion results to the state, congressional district and county levels, which are searchable through this interactive map.
“These poll results show strikingly widespread public support for the principle of ‘polluter pays’—that fossil fuel companies should be held responsible to pay for the climate mess they have created,” said Peter Frumhoff, director of science and policy and chief climate scientist at UCS. “For decades, fossil fuel companies knowingly misled the public about the climate risks of their products.” The poll found that two-thirds of people across the U.S. distrust fossil fuel companies. Frumhoff continued: “Communities across the nation now confront growing extreme weather and rising seas fueled by climate change—harms that could have been largely avoided had companies acted responsibly.”
The poll found:
Nearly seven in 10 Hawai’i residents (68 percent) think fossil fuel companies have either “a great deal” or “a moderate” amount of responsibility for the damages caused by global warming.
Roughly the same proportion (69 percent) support making fossil fuel companies pay for a portion of the damages to local communities caused by carbon pollution from burning fossil fuels.
Support for fossil fuel companies paying climate damages is high among residents of all four counties in the state.
More than six in 10 Hawai’i adults (63 percent) support local officials filing a lawsuit to make companies pay a portion of damages in an area.
Three-quarters of Hawai’i adults distrust fossil fuel companies.
Nearly seven in 10 Hawai’i residents (68 percent) think fossil fuel companies have either “a great deal” or “a moderate” amount of responsibility for the damages caused by global warming.
“In the past month, Hawai’i has seen more than a dozen record-setting high temperature days,” said Dr. Victoria Keener, research fellow at the East-West Center. “We see rainfall patterns changing, coral reefs bleaching and dying, and sea levels rising. We have more than $19 billion at stake—just in the value of land and structures in Hawai’i expected to flood by 2100, and that doesn’t include the social costs. As lead author of the Hawai’i and Pacific Islands chapter of the 4th US-National Climate Assessment, I know more damaging climate impacts are in store for the state and region. Cities and states must dramatically increase our resiliency efforts, which raises a question: how are Hawaii’s residents and businesses going to bear these costs?”
Since 2017 a growing number of municipalities across the country have sued major fossil fuel companies for knowingly contributing to property damage, public health impacts and climate adaptation costs. The state of Rhode Island, New York City, Baltimore, eight coastal California cities and counties, three Colorado cities and counties, and one Washington county have filed lawsuits to help their residents better adapt to and mitigate climate change impacts and ensure taxpayers alone don’t foot the bill.
“The survey echoes the deep concerns I’ve heard from my colleagues here at the university and all over the islands,” said Denise Antolini, associate dean at the William S. Richardson School of Law, University of Hawaii at Manoa. “Kamaʻāina know from their own personal experience that we are experiencing dramatic reductions in cooling tradewinds, mangos flowering early, and loss of precious sandy beaches. Government and legal scholars must engage in serious dialogue to find realistic options to pay for billions on adaptation costs, including the proposal for fossil fuel companies to pay their fair share of the impacts of excessive carbon emissions. This survey is a kāhea—a call to action—and we better pay attention, now.”
For more on poll results for other states, including those with surprisingly high public support for the “polluter pays” concept, see Peter Frumhoff’s blog.
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The Union of Concerned Scientists puts rigorous, independent science to work to solve our planet’s most pressing problems. Joining with people across the country, we combine technical analysis and effective advocacy to create innovative, practical solutions for a healthy, safe, and sustainable future.
Resilient and sustainable Pacific Island communities using climate information to manage risks and support practical decision-making about climate variability and change.
Hawaii Support for Fossil Fuel Company Climate Change Responsibility Ranked Highest Among U.S. States
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Posted on June 19, 2019 by pacrisa
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Ja-Rei Wang, jwang@ucsusa.org, 202-331-6943
Nearly Seven in Ten Hawai’i Residents Think Fossil Fuel Companies Should Pay For Global Warming Damages, According to New Poll
Hawaii Support for Fossil Fuel Company Climate Change Responsibility Ranked Highest Among U.S. States
WASHINGTON (June 19, 2019)— Ahead of next week’s U.S. mayors’ climate change summit in Honolulu, a new survey found that nearly seven in ten adults in Hawai’i think fossil fuel companies should pay for some portion of global warming damages. The nationally representative survey conducted by Yale University’s Program on Climate Change Communications (YPCCC) and supported by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) asked Americans across the country their opinions about responsibility for global warming damages. YPCCC polled 5,131 adults in five waves from November 2018 to January 2019 and used a geographic and statistical model developed by its team of scientists to downscale public opinion results to the state, congressional district and county levels, which are searchable through this interactive map.
“These poll results show strikingly widespread public support for the principle of ‘polluter pays’—that fossil fuel companies should be held responsible to pay for the climate mess they have created,” said Peter Frumhoff, director of science and policy and chief climate scientist at UCS. “For decades, fossil fuel companies knowingly misled the public about the climate risks of their products.” The poll found that two-thirds of people across the U.S. distrust fossil fuel companies. Frumhoff continued: “Communities across the nation now confront growing extreme weather and rising seas fueled by climate change—harms that could have been largely avoided had companies acted responsibly.”
The poll found:
“In the past month, Hawai’i has seen more than a dozen record-setting high temperature days,” said Dr. Victoria Keener, research fellow at the East-West Center. “We see rainfall patterns changing, coral reefs bleaching and dying, and sea levels rising. We have more than $19 billion at stake—just in the value of land and structures in Hawai’i expected to flood by 2100, and that doesn’t include the social costs. As lead author of the Hawai’i and Pacific Islands chapter of the 4th US-National Climate Assessment, I know more damaging climate impacts are in store for the state and region. Cities and states must dramatically increase our resiliency efforts, which raises a question: how are Hawaii’s residents and businesses going to bear these costs?”
Since 2017 a growing number of municipalities across the country have sued major fossil fuel companies for knowingly contributing to property damage, public health impacts and climate adaptation costs. The state of Rhode Island, New York City, Baltimore, eight coastal California cities and counties, three Colorado cities and counties, and one Washington county have filed lawsuits to help their residents better adapt to and mitigate climate change impacts and ensure taxpayers alone don’t foot the bill.
“The survey echoes the deep concerns I’ve heard from my colleagues here at the university and all over the islands,” said Denise Antolini, associate dean at the William S. Richardson School of Law, University of Hawaii at Manoa. “Kamaʻāina know from their own personal experience that we are experiencing dramatic reductions in cooling tradewinds, mangos flowering early, and loss of precious sandy beaches. Government and legal scholars must engage in serious dialogue to find realistic options to pay for billions on adaptation costs, including the proposal for fossil fuel companies to pay their fair share of the impacts of excessive carbon emissions. This survey is a kāhea—a call to action—and we better pay attention, now.”
For more on poll results for other states, including those with surprisingly high public support for the “polluter pays” concept, see Peter Frumhoff’s blog.
###
The Union of Concerned Scientists puts rigorous, independent science to work to solve our planet’s most pressing problems. Joining with people across the country, we combine technical analysis and effective advocacy to create innovative, practical solutions for a healthy, safe, and sustainable future.
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Category: Blog, General Tags: climate change, Hawaii, law & policy
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