Republicans who believe in climate change seek antidote to green Green New Deal

March 10, 2019, 09:48 GMT

By Allan Smith

Republicans rejected Green New Deal proposal – Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez aimed at eliminating greenhouse gas emissions and creating a renewable energy economy – as unrealistic, unaffordable and poorly designed.

But since the New York Democrat started promoting the idea at the end of last year, a growing number of House GOP lawmakers are increasingly willing to say these four little words: "The climate change is real. " And they warn the rest of their party that Republicans must push for alternative solutions before it's too late.

Representatives John Shimkus, R-Ill., Senior Member of the House Energy and Trade Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change, Billy Long, R-Mo., Bill Flores, R-Texas, Buddy Carter, R-Ga. And Anthony Gonzalez, R-Ohio, among others, presented his views at two hearings on the subject in early February.

"This is an extremely important topic," Carter said at the February 6 hearing of the House of Representatives Subcommittee on the Environment and Climate Change, adding that the climate change "is real" and is "a problem we need to tackle".

Shimkus, with Representative Greg Walden, R-Ore., Current Member of the Energy and Trade Committee, and Fred Upton, R-Mich., Member of House Energy's Energy Subcommittee and Commerce, argued their argument that the Green New Deal would have "potentially devastating consequences on our national debt and our economy".

"Americans deserve better, which is why we defend reasonable, realistic and effective policies to fight climate change," they wrote.

This is a position that contradicts President Donald Trump, who continues to question the veracity of climate science, to such an extent that his administration is considering naming a select group of scientists to reassess his previous disastrous climate change analysis. . According to the Washington Post, the group of scientists would include those who doubt the magnitude of climate change and the extent to which humans contribute to it. According to Bloomberg, the Trump government will be asking for drastic cuts in the Energy Department's renewables budget as part of the president's budget request for the 2020 fiscal year, to be released Monday.

But polls show that the Republican party's aversion to recognizing climate change is becoming less popular. A NBC News / Wall Street Journal poll released on March 4 showed that 63% of adults felt the GOP positions on climate change were out of the ordinary, compared to 54% of abortions – three other issues on which adults asked questions in both polling stations – the difference between 2015 and 2019 was negligible or non-existent.

"I think they have to look at where the young people are, where are the suburban residents, far more in favor of climate change measures than Republican leadership," said Representative Francis Rooney, R-Fla , at NBC News. . "And at some point, they will realize that if you can not touch enough people, you can not win.It is a computation problem."

Rooney is a proponent of introducing a carbon tax – a tax on the carbon content of fossil fuels. This measure, which, according to Rooney, would constitute "a pretty elegant solution" to solving some of the problems associated with climate change, currently enjoys little support among elected Republicans, let alone the president.

Trump "is so determined to support the coal industry that it is impossible that he [Senate Majority Leader] Mitch McConnell is going to put a carbon tax in place, "he said.

Nevertheless, Rooney worked with Ted Deutch, D-Fla., To reintroduce carbon tax legislation earlier this year in the hope of sparking a debate on climate policy and ensuring that more people "realize that Republicans are interested in the environment".

"We also have a voice in this area," he said.

Walden, a prominent member of the House Committee on Trade and Energy and co-author of the notice, said he was not a supporter of the carbon tax. He would prefer that the Congress advocate policies encouraging energy producers to innovate in ways that protect the environment.

"In the end, there is no scientific denier among us," Walden said of Republican members of his committee. "Everyone wanted to go forward, but with the principles set out in our editorial – innovation, adaptation, conservation, preparedness, how can we, as a country, lead the world in reducing carbon emissions? and methane through technology. "

Walden advocates for increased use of hydropower and nuclear energy, while improving the storage of batteries for renewable energy. But the congressman said that he had not had the opportunity to talk directly to Trump about his climate agenda or the leaders of the National Security Council to bring the group of scientists together. who might question the previous report on the climate of the administration.

"But we have thermometers for hundreds of years," he said. "We know that temperatures are changing, we know that there will be variations, I believe that men and the industry are contributing factors."

However, he discussed climate change with Secretary of Energy Rick Perry. Walden said Perry is "fully" committed to some of his ideas and will be a "key leader in this area" for his committee.

In the Senate, Senator John Barrasso, R-Wy., Proposed a policy direction similar to that of Walden. The chairman of the House's Environment and Public Works Committee saw his law to modernize the country's nuclear energy infrastructure adopted earlier this year. He wishes to draw attention to the progress made in capturing carbon emissions from fossil fuels.

"Republicans support a sensible approach to fight climate change," Barrasso said in a statement. "We want to make the US energy as clean as possible, as quickly as possible, without increasing costs for American families, and innovation in the open market, and not drastic government regulation, will provide the necessary solutions."

Meanwhile, the Senate Democratic Caucus as a whole endorsed a resolution on February 28 calling on the US and Congress to address climate change without proposing specific plans. This is an alternative to the Green New Deal proposal that McConnell has announced his intention to put to the vote.

On Wednesday, Democratic senators, some of whom are suspicious of the Green New Deal but are seeking to fight climate change, have submitted a separate resolution to create a new small committee to tackle the problem.

"Not only have Senate Republicans not yet come up with any plans to seriously tackle climate change, but many of them still deny science and the basic facts," said the chief of the Senate. the senatorial minority, Chuck Schumer, DN.Y. In a statement. "Democrats believe that the Congress must take urgent action, which is why I am asking Leader McConnell to proceed with an individual vote on this resolution in order to create a new Senate Committee devoted to examining the many costs involved. of climate inaction ".

The former representative Carlos Curbelo, R-Fla., Said in an interview that the Green New Deal and the push of climate activists to the left give the GOP the opportunity to pivot towards a climate policy "to which they can adhere to ".

"Having the Green New Deal around is kind of good for Republicans and Conservatives, because they still need something to oppose," said Curbelo, a contributor to MSNBC.

Rooney said he was encouraged by the conversations he had had with his GOP colleagues.

"Some people have started talking about it and have never talked about it before," he said. "I know some of the leaders of the Energy and Trade Committee have talked about the artificial part of climate change – which is a big step forward."

Curbelo said "it is obvious that Republicans take this problem seriously and are no longer willing to reject it".

"Maybe they can not afford to reject it," he said. "But whatever the case, there is an evolution going on and I feel that it is accelerating."