Fact #162: April 23, 2001
Public Support for Fuel Conservation Policies
In a random phone survey conducted by Opinion Research Corporation for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 955 people were asked the following:
"If it became necessary for the U.S. to reduce dependence on foreign oil, which of the following policies would you most/least support"
- Regulation to make personal vehicles more efficient
- Tax refunds for higher efficiency vehicles
- Higher taxes on less efficient vehicles
- Higher taxes on gasoline and diesel
Nearly half of the survey respondents chose fuel economy regulation as what they would most likely support. Forty-four percent of the respondents said they would be least likely to support an increase in fuel tax.
Supporting Information
| Percent of Respondents | ||
|---|---|---|
| Policy | Most Support | Least Support |
| Regulation | 48% | 15% |
| Vehicle Refund | 24% | 14% |
| Vehicle Tax | 11% | 19% |
| Fuel Tax | 6% | 44% |
| Don't Know/None | 11% | 7% |
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