How has the public in the United States supported renewable energy? ─A longitudinal study from 2010 to 2023

Climate change has brought substantial impacts on the environment and human society, and the United States is one major contributor. To address the crisis, promoting renewable energy is a viable approach because it offers a substitute for fossil fuels and helps reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Understanding public support for renewable energy is essential for driving meaningful action. This study investigates Americans’ attitudes toward renewable energy from 2010 to 2023 and explicitly examines the influence of three time-varying predictors: carbon dependence, climate change impact, and political context. Analysis of panel data reveals a decline in public support for renewable energy over this period. Two-way fixed-effects regression results show that states with carbon-intensive economies that emit greater CO2 per GDP have shown decreasing public support for renewables, whereas states facing severe climate change impacts represented by more cooling degree days and those with unified Democratic Party control of the government have become more favorable toward clean energy. Methodologically, the longitudinal design advances previous public opinion research by leveraging state-level data and identifying the effects of time-varying predictors that capture economic, climate, and political contexts. This study also offers policy insights regarding mobilizing public concern and advancing clean energy to combat climate change.