Nov 4 2008
Today is Election Day and whichever candidate is elected, he will have a mandate to adopt policies that secure America's energy future using our most abundant energy resource -- coal.
"If 'support for the use of coal for generating electricity' were on the ballot today, it would win by a landslide," said Joe Lucas, vice president for communications with the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE). Lucas' comments are based upon a recent national public opinion survey sponsored by ACCCE and fielded in mid-October. The survey found that 72 percent of opinion leaders nationwide support the use of coal for generating electricity -- a significant increase over the past year and the highest level of support since the group began polling almost 10 years ago.
Given concerns about energy security, the economy, and higher energy costs, Lucas said it is no surprise that support for coal is at an all-time high and that energy issues have played a big role in this election. "The candidates' views on coal's future are reflective of the public, and so it is easy to see why Senator Obama and Senator McCain have so consistently talked about coal's role in America's energy future," said Lucas.
The poll shows that Americans are very optimistic about the future for coal. When asked the question "do you believe coal is a fuel for America's future?" -- 69% of Americans agreed (compared to only 26% who disagreed). Moreover, those polled expressed strong confidence that the emergence of new technologies will result in additional emissions reductions in the coal-based electricity sector including technologies that will be deployed to capture and store greenhouse gas emissions.
More than 70 percent of those surveyed (72%) agreed that new technologies would allow coal-based electricity plants to meet an ultra-low emissions profile (near zero emissions including the capture and storage of carbon dioxide) within the next 10 to 20 years. Moreover, those surveyed found that developing these new advanced clean coal technologies offered the opportunity to create jobs for American workers (84% agreed) and export these technologies to other countries (65% agreed).
Lucas noted that the poll shows the next President and Congress will face a significantly different policy landscape in 2009 as it relates to energy.
"The fundamentals of the energy debate have changed," said Lucas. "While environmental concerns were the primary driver of the debate in the past, this poll shows that energy security concerns are more pressing for the key voters. This means that policymakers will be looking to solutions that will ensure domestic energy resources such as coal play an expanded role in meeting future energy needs."
This poll was conducted for ACCCE by AmericanPublic.us and RT Strategies. The poll interviewed 600 opinion elites nationwide. Elites are defined as adults with $80,000 or more in household income and a four-year college degree or more and a professional or managerial job title or a business owner and a high degree of involvement in politics and policy matters. This poll was conducted October 7-9, 2008.