WASHINGTON — Some laughter was immediately heard from the crowd when Luke Bolar presented the first slide at the third annual Conservative Climate Leadership Conference.
The screen showed an iconic photo from 2015 — Jim Inhofe , former senator from Oklahoma and staunch climate denier, holding a snowball at the Senate floor to prove that global warming is a hoax.
Bolar, chief external affairs officer of ClearPath, an environmental advocacy organization dedicated to conserving clean energy, stated that “at the time it was both safest and popular for Republicans not to deny climate changes.” But times are changing.”
Bolar, an ex-aide to several Republicans at Capitol Hill , was one of around 100 people who met on Tuesday at the Holiday Inn downtown Washington for one of the largest annual meetings of conservatives concerned with climate change.
To prove their right-leaning status, each attendee had to pass a screening on their political views on economic and social issues. This allowed them to gain admission to the event. This is it.
Agenda promised discussions for conservatives interested in tackling climate change with strategies that focus on less government intervention and a more inclusive market-based approach to fossil energy. The conference was hosted by the Citizens’ Climate Lobby (an environmental advocacy non-partisan group), before attendees were sent to Capitol Hill to lobby Republican lawmakers to support climate action.
Craig Preston of California speaks at the opening of the 2023 Conservative Climate Leadership Conference.
CCL
The day began at 10 a.m. Blazer-clad attendees chatted over paper cups of coffee, pale yellow banquet tables and about the cherry blossoms in the area and the upcoming lobby Day.
Participants came from all over the country. Phil Engen, an Iowa software development manager, shared his strategy to get fellow conservatives talking about climate.
Engen stated, “You need to be very careful about your wording.” It’s better to agree on a topic and then approach climate change from that perspective.
Sessions included discussions on topics such as the effects of climate change upon hunting and fishing, growing nuclear energy industries and working with media to be climate-driven conservatives.
Two major talking points at the conference focused on permitting reform and carbon pricing in the form of carbon dividends, in which companies pay Experts in Energy say that many goals under the Inflation Reduction Act signed by Biden last year cannot be achieved without overhauling the permitting process.
Democrats have included climate change in their political platforms far more often than Republicans over the past decade. Recent years have seen a rise in the number of Republicans, especially young, speaking out about climate. A Pew Research Center poll revealed that 47% believe the federal government does not do enough to address climate change in 2022.
At the state level, there are some Republican-led states that are leading clean energy transition. In 2022 Texas and Iowa had more wind power than any other country in the United States, while Florida and North Carolina had the highest solar power.
Bolar assured the audience that climate deniers are a small, but vocal, percentage of conservatives. Bolar stated, “It is time to talk about solutions.”
Bolar explained to attendees that it is crucial for GOP politicians to be aware that talking about climate will help them win over both swing voters as well as their Republican constituents. Many of these people already care about climate change.
However, there are many climate change skeptics in the party, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from Georgia, who once stated that global heating is good for the planet. This was also true of former President Donald Trump who repeatedly called Climate Change a hoax.
Several attendees at the conference stated that this topic is still difficult for conservatives to discuss.
Elizabeth Fenner, a Wichita Catholic librarian, finds it difficult to talk about climate change with her Catholic parish. Fenner insists that climate action is a religious obligation. She stated, “I believe that God has commanded us to protect the Earth.”
Dalton Jackson, a conservative student at 20 from Indiana, who grew up on an Indiana farm, stated that it is not unusual for rural Indiana residents to deny climate change.
Jackson stated that many farmers depend on diesel-powered trucks and tractors to make a living. The idea of electrification of farming equipment raises concerns about the price and identity.
Jackson stated that climate change should be a bipartisan matter. It affects everyone. We can only hope that Republicans across the country will listen to us. Although it is easy to shame them, it does not produce any productive results. Rural people are not our enemies. “We’re all Americans at end of the day.”
Conservative climate advocates believe that bipartisan action is necessary to combat climate change in America. Rep. John Curtis (Republican from Utah) has spoken out about climate change , and encouraged other Republicans to do so. Curtis was a prominent speaker at the conference and founded the Conservative Climate Caucusin 2020. He has been praised for his efforts in bringing climate change to the Republican platform.
Curtis stated in an interview that “Republicans care deeply to leave the Earth even more beautiful than it was when we found it.” “And we haven’t always done a great job of communicating that in the past. That’s a mistake that I believe, and I want it to be corrected.
Curtis voted against Inflation Reduction Act. It included billions of dollars to support clean energy production, efficiency, and forest protection. Curtis stated that he did not feel that Republicans were consulted about the bill.
Curtis stated that climate change must be dealt with in a more conservative and practical manner. Many Republicans feel that fossil fuels are an essential part of the energy transition. Without them, you won’t be able to get 100% clean energy for very long, he stated.
Curtis stated that it was important to discuss climate change in terms other than political terms. I try to appeal to their natural desire to leave a better earth for future generations. That belief is ingrained in all of us.
