New Poll: Americans Want Congress and President Biden to Limit Methane Pollution

Washington, D.C. – April 22, 2021) Today, EDF Action, the advocacy partner of the Environmental Defense Fund, released a national poll commissioned by Morning Consult that shows broad public support for limiting methane pollution, including requiring companies to regularly check for and fix methane leaks as well as for efforts to clean up orphaned wells.

Key Findings:

• 79% of respondents, including strong bipartisan majorities, support congressional action requiring oil and gas companies to regularly check for and fix methane leaks, including 74% of Independents and 81% of Republicans.
• 58% of respondents agree that limiting methane pollution will benefit public health, including 66% of urban respondents, 57% of suburban respondents and 49% of rural respondents.
• Three in five respondents support the Biden administration working to cut methane emissions from the oil and gas sector by 65%.
• Two thirds of respondents, including bipartisan majorities, support Congressional efforts to clean up orphan wells. This includes 72% of respondents who support requiring companies to help plug well sites when they apply for future drilling permits and 74% of respondents support transparency requirements to notify communities of potential hazards from well leaks.
• A majority of respondents found messages around health, clean up costs, jobs and the rights of private landowners compelling reasons for action around plugging orphan wells.

Explore the polling memo here.

“The public wants strong federal action to ensure that oil and gas companies are minimizing the amount of methane pollution released into the air — and they want abandoned wells cleaned up,” said Dan Grossman, Senior Director, Regulatory & Legislative Affairs for EDF Action. “Americans see the health, economic and environmental benefits of these common sense policies. That’s why we’re advocating for Congress and the Biden administration to set strong rules for oil and gas companies. The good news is that the Senate has a real opportunity to act on this by passing a resolution to get sensible methane policy back on track and clear the decks for the Biden EPA to craft next-generation pollution standards for the oil and gas industry.”