New national YouGov polling commissioned by the Climate Council shows Labor risks losing almost half of its votes if it writes climate out of Australia’s environment laws, and seven in ten of all voters back strong climate safeguards for new coal and gas projects.
The polling shows a clear political impact if the Albanese Government fails to address climate change in its environment law reforms: four in five Labor voters think it would be the wrong decision, and almost half of Labor voters say they would be less likely to vote for Labor.
Here are the key findings at a glance:
- 68% agree Australia’s national environment law should protect our environment from the impacts of climate change (10% disagree).
- 70% agree the law should consider the impacts of climate change when assessing fossil fuel projects (12% disagree).
- 61% agree the federal government should retain the power to prevent coal and gas mines harming water resources (12% disagree).
- 65% of voters think it would be the wrong decision for the Prime Minister to not include climate change in our national environment law.
- 44% of Labor voters say they’d be less likely to vote Labor if the Government does not address climate change in the new law.
Now let’s dig a little deeper.
Australians back strong climate safeguards in our environment law
Australians expect the national environment law to protect people and nature from climate harm, not wave through more climate pollution. Nearly seven in ten (68%) agree Australia’s national environment law should protect our environment from the impacts of climate change, with only one in ten (10%) disagreeing.
Considering climate when assessing fossil fuel projects
Australians want decisions about new fossil fuel projects to account for climate impacts. Seven in ten (70%) agree the law should consider the impacts of climate change when assessing fossil fuel projects; 12% disagree.
Political signal to decision‑makers
The research indicates clear electoral consequences if climate is left out of the environment law reforms: 41% of voters say they would be less likely to vote Labor if the Government doesn’t address climate change in the new national environment law.
Among people who voted Labor at the 2025 federal election, 44% are “at risk on climate” – they report being less likely to support Labor if climate is not addressed in the law.
What this means
- Australians want climate built into our new environment law. The public expects the law to both protect from climate impacts and consider climate when assessing fossil fuel projects.
- There’s a consequence for ignoring climate. Almost half of Labor’s 2025 voters say they’re less likely to vote Labor if climate is left out of the reforms, including a significant share of Labor’s own 2025 voters.
- Support spans the political spectrum. Agreement is strong across voter groups, and is overwhelmingly strong among climate‑motivated Labor voters.
The good news
There’s still time for the Government to deliver on the public’s expectations and strengthen its environment law reforms to address climate change. Learn more about how they can do that here.
Methodology & credits
- Commissioned by: Climate Council, the Sunrise Project and Lock The Gate
- Provider: YouGov Polling & Public Affairs Team
- Fieldwork & sample: National sample n=3,783 adult voters, representative of the voting population by age, gender, region, income, education, 2023 Voice and 2025 Federal Election vote.
- Segments used in reporting: 2025 Labor voters (n=1,400); climate‑motivated Labor voters (n=615); non‑Labor voters (n=2,383)
