Posted on 20 March 2017 by dana1981

While the Trump administration is veering sharply toward climate science denial, 19 House Republicans have taken steps to pull the party in the direction of reality, and the need to combat the threats posed by human-caused climate change.

The Republican Climate Resolution

Last week, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY), Congressman Carlos Curbelo (R-FL), and Congressman Ryan Costello (R-PA) led a group of 17 House Republicans in introducing a resolution that calls on Congress to develop policies to tackle climate change. 

The Republican Climate Resolution recognizes that environmental stewardship is a conservative principle, that policies should be based on scientific evidence and quantifiable facts, that climate change is having negative impacts and is viewed by the Department of Defense as a threat multiplier, and that we can and must take meaningful action to address these threats in a manner that doesn’t constrain the American economy:

...be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives commits to working constructively, using our tradition of American ingenuity, innovation, and exceptionalism, to create and support economically viable, and broadly supported private and public solutions to study and address the causes and effects of measured changes to our global and regional climates, including mitigation efforts and efforts to balance human activities that have been found to have an impact.

The Resolution has thus far been signed by House Republicans representing districts in New York, Pennsylvania, Florida, Nevada, Nebraska, Virginia, New Jersey, Utah, Washington, and South Carolina. 

The bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus

Eleven of the Resolution’s signatories are also members of the Climate Solutions Caucus, as are Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Lee Zeldin (R-NY), who have not yet signed the Resolution. The Climate Solutions Caucus is a bipartisan group in the US House of Representatives – currently comprised of 13 Republicans and 13 Democrats – that explores policy options to address climate change.

Caucus members include some prominent conservative Republicans. Darrell Issa is the former chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and Mia Love is viewed as a rising star in the party. Love featured in an episode of the acclaimed program Years of Living Dangerously:

Mia Love in Years of Living Dangerously

Altogether, this makes 19 Republican members of the House of Representatives calling for or developing policies to tackle climate change.

The conservative Climate Leadership Council

Republican voters would also support this shift. 62% of Trump voters favor a tax or regulations on carbon pollution, or both. While these voters don’t view climate change as an urgent threat or high priority, and thus aren’t too bothered by their party’s general climate denial and policy obstruction, they would nevertheless prefer that Republican policymakers take steps to address the threats posed by climate change.

A sustainable GOP requires a sustainable climate

It would certainly be a smart move for the Republican Party. The current party policy involves rejecting decades’ worth of scientific evidence and a 97% expert consensus, and rolling back all of the progress America has made to address the threats posed by climate change. 

But denying a problem doesn’t make it go away. Climate denial, much like opposition to equal rights for minorities, is a long-term losing proposition. In recent elections, Democrats have won lesbian, gay, and bisexual voters by margins of over 50%, and African-Americans by margins of over 80%.

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