Ask a young American what she thinks about energy, and you’re unlikely to get a simple answer. She probably wants more solar, but she also wants to keep the lights on and her heating bill manageable. She worries about climate change, but she’s not sure she trusts Washington to fix it. She might even be warming to nuclear power, something that would have surprised her older sibling a decade ago. The picture becomes clearer when you see how young Americans answer these questions in the polls.
According to a June 2023 survey from the Pew Research Center, two-thirds of Americans say the country should prioritize developing renewable energy over expanding oil, coal, and natural gas. It isn’t just Democrats driving the push for clean energy. Among young Republicans, that number is also 67 percent — 25 points higher than the GOP average. A follow-up Pew report from 2024 put it plainly: “Among Republicans, age matters.” Nearly seven in ten Republicans under 30 want to see wind and solar take center stage, a dramatic shift from the party’s older base, 76 percent of whom say the priority should be expanding fossil fuel production. The generational divide within the GOP on energy is, in some ways, wider than the partisan divide between young Democrats and young Republicans.
The generational divide within the GOP on energy is, in some ways, wider than the partisan divide between young Democrats and young Republicans.
None of this means young Americans want to flip a switch and shut down the fossil fuel industry overnight. Pew also found that 48 percent of adults ages 18 to 29 support phasing out fossil fuels entirely, while 52 percent prefer a mixed energy system that includes both fossil fuels and renewables. It’s essentially the “all-of-the-above energy strategy” long advocated by such lawmakers as Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming, who has argued repeatedly that America needs to expand both traditional and renewable energy sources to remain strong and competitive. His position is laid out clearly in his remarks on American energy as the source of American strength, safety, and prosperity and in his call for an all-of-the-above approach to U.S. energy dominance.
Polling from the American Conservation Coalition shows something similar on the conservative side. Young Republicans respond far better to a message of “here’s how we can make energy cleaner and stronger” than to doom-and-gloom or all-or-nothing rhetoric. They’re not opposed to energy development, and they’re not opposed to climate action either. What turns them off is the framing — the assumption that you’re either in denial or you want to shut everything down by next Tuesday.
Another area where young Americans are reshaping the energy debate is nuclear power. A Wall Street Journal/NORC poll found that about four in five first time voters support expanding new generation nuclear energy alongside renewables as part of a path to net zero emissions by 2050. For a generation raised on climate anxiety, that’s a notable shift. Nuclear has quietly shed its Cold War image and is being reassessed on its merits: reliable, emissions free, and increasingly cost competitive. America’s youth are open to newer technologies like hydrogen production, which many see as a practical way to cut emissions in sectors where wind and solar alone can’t do the job. Young Americans seem more interested in what works than in what’s ideologically convenient.
On climate change itself, younger Americans remain far more alarmed than their elders, and they want policymakers to act accordingly. Pew reports that 54 percent of Americans view climate change as a major threat to the country’s well-being, but the partisan gap is enormous: 78 percent of Democrats say it’s a major threat, compared with 23 percent of Republicans. Among the Gen Z that use social media, nearly seven in ten (69 percent) say climate content makes them feel anxious about the future. For many young Americans, climate change is the backdrop against which every other policy question is asked.
On climate change itself, younger Americans remain far more alarmed than their elders, and they want policymakers to act accordingly.
And yet, caring about climate change doesn’t mean policymakers are being given a blank check for taking action. A 2025 poll from the University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute (EPIC) found that only 38 percent of Americans are willing to pay even $1 more per month on their energy bills to address climate change. And it’s not just about energy or climate costs either. The American Enterprise Institute finds that young voters aren’t walking away from capitalism but are instead walking away from leaders who talk about the economy in ways that have nothing to do with their actual lives. They want policies that feel honest and grounded, because they are “frustrated by broken promises.” When climate or energy plans sound disconnected from everyday reality, that’s when young voters tune out. And as Gen Z enters the workforce, signs leases, and starts paying utilities, that gap between environmental idealism and economic reality is only going to get harder to ignore.
What does all of this add up to? A generation that doesn’t fit the mold. Young Americans want clean energy, and they want it sooner rather than later. But they’re also paying for college, watching their utility bills, and trying to make realistic choices. They’re not buying the old idea that you have to pick between a healthy planet and a healthy economy. They want both. And if the polling tells us anything, it’s that the party that can talk to them in a language that’s ambitious but grounded — serious about climate but honest about the costs involved — is going to have a real advantage with the voters who are about to run this country. The data isn’t a threat to the Republican Party — it’s an invitation. Young voters aren’t looking for a different party. They’re looking for an energy vision worthy of the country they’re about to inherit.
Isabelle Cook is a student at Brigham Young University and a 2026 Oxley Intern at The Ripon Society.
