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Washington - Republican voters in New Hampshire and South Carolina - key states in the US presidential nomination process - believe climate change is occurring and support clean energy and investment in renewable power sources, a recent poll showed.
The survey by the polling firm American Viewpoint, released late last week, showed 74% of New Hampshire Republicans who are likely to vote in the 2016 primary elections want the United States to increase the use of renewable energy, and 71% of South Carolina Republicans feel the same.
These and other findings put the voters at odds with national Republican leaders and state governors who are mounting a lawsuit against President Barack Obama's proposed Clean Power Plan.
The plan, presented on Monday, calls for a 32% reduction in emissions from coal-fired power plants by 2030.
The plan coming from a Democrat found support from a majority of Republicans in both states, the pollsters said: 50% favoured the plan in New Hampshire, while 52% agreed in South Carolina.
Nearly 60% of Republican primary voters in both states are in favour of placing limits on carbon pollution. But more than 70% indicated they preferred that states, not the federal government, carry out the plans.
The survey of 400 registered Republican voters in each state has a 4.9% margin of error. It was conducted by a public opinion research firm that has served on the polling team of every Republican presidential nominee since Ronald Reagan in the early 1980s.
