A Report from
National Surveys on Energy and Environment Issues in Energy and Environmental Policy
Number 38 | July 2018
Fuel Economy, Electric Vehicle Rebates, and Gas Taxes: 10 Years of Transportation Policies in the NSEE Introduction
NSEE @10
The transportation sector looms increasingly large in American greenhouse gas emissions and in the question of addressing climate change. Long second to the electricity sector among American emissions, transportation took the top spot in 2016 and this trend appears likely to continue in coming years. Unlike electricity, American transportation emissions have not achieved significant reductions over the past decades (see Figure 1). While overall emissions associated with the transportation sector are still below levels seen from 19992008 due in large part to increased fuel economy standards and older cars and trucks reaching the end of their life, the economic rebound and relatively low gas prices since the Great Recession has resulted in Americans driving more miles2 and purchasing larger vehicles.
Since 2008, the University of Michigan and Muhlenberg College have conducted the National Surveys on Energy and Environment (NSEE), a biannual national opinion survey on energy and climate policy. To celebrate the tenth anniversary of the survey, throughout 2018, NSEE will be releasing a series of reports highlighting the breadth of topics we have covered over the past decade. These reports present time-series data on how American attitudes about energy policy and climate change have changed from 2008 to 2017, as well as comparisons to Canadian opinion, collected through a parallel survey conducted by researchers at the University of Montreal. You can find previous reports in this series at: www.closup.umich.edu/nsee
This report examines American attitudes about policies that could reduce emissions from the transportation sector. We use time-series data to consider shifts in support for policies that require auto makers to sell more fuel-efficient vehicles, and how that support shifts when a price tag for vehicle purchase is applied to such policies. We also consider how American support for increasing gasoline excise taxes as a way to reduce driving and transportation-based emissions has changed over time. Furthermore, we discuss American support for providing tax rebates for purchasing electric vehicles, and recount past NSEE polling on support for providing similar rebates for hybrid electric vehicles. Figure 1: US greenhouse gas emissions by economic sector, as % of all emissions 40%
30%
20%
10%
0
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
Transportation
1998
1999
2000
Electricity generation
2001
2002
2003
2004
Industry
2005
2006
Agriculture
2007
2008
2009
Commercial
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
Residential
Source: See Note 1
Authors
Sarah B. Mills • Natalie B. Fitzpatrick • Barry G. Rabe • Christopher Borick • Erick Lachapelle
University of Michigan