Two-thirds of Americans believe the United States should enter into an legally binding international agreement to limit the impact of climate change, according to a poll released Monday by CBS News and The New York Times.
The poll, conducted between Nov. 18 and Nov. 22, was released the same day leaders of 150 nations kicked off pivotal climate talks in Paris with a goal of entering a legally binding agreement to reduce greenhouse gases and keep global average temperatures below 2 degrees Celsius, reports CNN.
And while 66 percent of respondents support entering into a binding agreement at the climate talks, a slim majority of Republicans remained opposed to the idea, according to the Times.
Seventy-five percent of Americans polled said they believe global warming is already seriously affecting the environment or would in the future. Nine out of 10 Democrats agreed, as did 58 percent of Republicans.
When asked about their support for specific domestic measures that could reduce global warming, 63 percent - including a slight majority of Republicans - said they support imposing limits on carbon emissions from U.S. power plants. Thirty-one percent opposed such measures.
Respondents were more divided on whether the U.S. should limit drilling for oil and gas, logging and mining on public lands - 49 percent in favor versus 45 percent opposed.
Far less - 19 percent - supported increasing taxes on electricity so people use less of it. Significantly more supported increased taxes on gasoline - 36 percent, notes Reuters.
"Public support for international and domestic measures to address climate change may provide a lift for American negotiators attending the major United Nations climate change conference that began in Paris on Monday," the Times wrote in the report. "But the stark partisan divide on climate policy will still make it difficult for President Obama and his successors to put in place the energy and climate policies that will be needed to support a robust international agreement, the goal of the Paris talks."
