GOP Tiptoes into Climate

by Matthew Choi (Politico's Morning Energy) THE GOP’s CCC: As Democrats move closer toward writing a climate bill they can move on their own, Rep. John Curtis (R-Utah) is unveiling a new caucus today aimed at educating and organizing Republicans on climate change. Dubbed the Conservative Climate Caucus, the group has attracted around 50 members and hopes to inform Republicans on climate science and technology and to discuss potential legislation.

“It took me three and half years to feel like I had my feet underneath me [on climate] and I felt quite strongly that it shouldn’t take that long. I wanted to help other conservatives and Republicans make that same journey in far less time,” Curtis told me. So that “when asked in a town hall meeting, they’re comfortable in what they’re talking about.”

Curtis hosted a group of over 20 Republicans in Utah two months ago to get members engaged on climate — including members who were shy about publicly engaging with climate. “Some that attended specifically said, 'Look, if press found out about this, I’m not coming,'” Curtis admitted, though he wouldn’t spill on who those members were. By the end, members were enthusiastic to learn more, motivating Curtis to form a more formal channel.

The group’s primary mandate is to get Republicans comfortable enough on climate policy to be more assertive in legislation, as opposed to dictating the legislation itself, Curtis said. Some of the areas he hoped to zero in on in particular include nuclear power, innovation for direct air capture and other forms of carbon removal, and job growth in fossil fuel country.

Several top Republicans had a major hand in the caucus’ creation, including House Climate Crisis Ranking Member Garret Graves (R-La.), Natural Resources Ranking Member Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.), House E&C Ranking Member Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) and House E&C Environment Ranking Member David McKinley (R-W.Va.), Curtis said. The Utahn also said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy was enthusiastic.

Curtis is holding a press conference on the caucus’ launch today at 10 a.m., joined by several members, as well as Rich Powell, executive director of ClearPath Action, and CRES Executive Director Heather Reams. READ MORE

Excerpt from Washington Examiner: Members include Reps. Garret Graves of Louisiana, Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington, Bruce Westerman of Arkansas, Frank Lucas of Oklahoma, Michael McCaul of Texas, Lee Zeldin of New York, Nancy Mace of South Carolina, and more.

An existing bicameral Republican Roosevelt Conservation Caucus lists public land access, water quality, and ocean pollution among its priorities and is focused more on enhancing the environmental profile of the GOP.

The new climate caucus, however, aims to go beyond messaging and “educate House Republicans on climate policies and legislation consistent with conservative values,” according to a one-page summary shared by Curtis’s office.

Members of the group acknowledge “the climate is changing” and that human industrial activity has contributed to global warming, the summary reads.

Congressional Republicans have sought to overhaul their party's climate change platform and messaging to compete with Democrats and the Biden administration. House Republicans are also responding to polls over the last few years that have shown the party is vulnerable among young and suburban voters who are concerned about the environment and climate change.

Curtis is among the Republicans who worked with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy last year to introduce an agenda to address climate change that was focused on promoting innovation in clean energy technologies, including carbon capture for fossil fuel plants and smaller nuclear reactors.

Republicans on the new conservative caucus say they intend to contrast their proposals with “radical progressive” climate policies, such as pricing carbon or mandating clean electricity use.

Caucus Republicans say fossil fuels, the main contributor to climate change, “can and should be a major part of the global solution,” as long as “innovative technologies” are used to capture or limit their emissions. READ MORE

Excerpt from Politico's Morning Energy: WHATCHA GONNA DO ABOUT IT? As record-setting heat broils the Northwest, three PNW Republicans are keeping mum on climate action to stop it. The silence from Reps. Cliff Bentz of Oregon and Dan Newhouse and Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington state comes less than a week after the three helped launch the new Conservative Climate Caucus, Pro’s Zack Colman reports.

The dichotomy has led to accusations of politicking on climate rather than genuinely pushing to address the issue. Evergreen Action Executive Director Jamal Raad, who is feeling the extreme heat in his Seattle home, told Zack that the trio are “literally talking about this as the need to reach out to more voters, not as actually solving the problem, because they don’t agree on this problem.”

The Conservative Climate Caucus launched to get Republicans more comfortable discussing climate issues, its founders say, serving more as an educational vehicle than a policy brewery. But to conservatives outside of government hoping to see more climate action, the trio’s silence is a discouraging sign. “Conservatives are learning to think differently about climate change but they don’t yet know what to think,” Alex Flint, executive director of Alliance for Market Solutions, told Zack. READ MORE

Excerpt from Politico's Morning Energy: TAKE US SERIOUSLY: Pro’s Anthony Adragna had a chat recently with Rep. John Curtis, the architect of the new Conservative Climate Caucus. The Utah Republican disputed the notion that the new climate-centered group was all just for politics and expressed his earnestness in trying to get the GOP into the climate discussion.

“Sixty-five members — a third of the Republican conference — have signed up to a document that says the climate is changing and man’s had some influence on it. I think we ought to get a little credit for that. I think that's a big deal,” Curtis told Anthony.

Curtis launched the caucus almost two weeks ago to get Republicans more comfortable on climate issues. It won’t endorse specific legislation and is largely educational, he told Anthony, but it still philosophically backs a number of mitigation tactics, including carbon capture and advanced nuclear. And he added that he felt Democrats were making a mistake in framing climate change as a “crisis,” saying it could turn off several Republicans in the same way evoking a border wall can turn off Democrats to GOP immigration proposals.

“The word climate is very similar to Republicans, and it has that same kind of emotional trigger, which has little to do with environmental stewardship and far more to do with ‘you have to accept the Green New Deal and you have to jump all in’," Curtis said. “I really don't believe most of us deny the science. I think we just hate the question.” READ MORE