The Conservative Climate Caucus: Political Breakthrough or Performative Activism?

For the most part, the complexion of United States climate change politics is an unwavering standoff between Democrats and Republicans.  On one side of the aisle, Democrats have pushed for incredibly bold, comprehensive climate change legislation, while on the other side, Republicans remain steadfast in opposing any legislation that remotely addresses climate change.  Due to these stark divisions between parties and an incredibly gridlocked Congress, U.S Federal initiatives addressing global warming are a rare occurrence.

While the current state of the U.S government is discouraging, there are small signs that major bipartisan action on climate change can occur on Capitol Hill.  This past June, a group of over 60 Republican Congressmen formed the Conservative Climate Caucus, which in its opening statements, acknowledged the existence climate change and pledged to educate other Republicans on climate policies that align with the GOP and reduce carbon emissions.  

At its core, the formation of this caucus reflects a shifting view by many conservatives on the grassroots and lower level of U.S politics, such as younger Republican voters and Local/City/State elected Republicans, that climate change is an issue that must be addressed and depoliticized.  However, this cautious optimism should still be tempered as the establishment of the Conservative Climate Caucus has the potential to actually further drive the United States away from the bold changes needed to combat climate change.  This blog will analyze the good, the bad, the unknown, and present an overall outlook for the Conservative Climate Caucus and their potential to drastically alter the conversation around climate change in D.C.  

The Good

In no uncertain terms, the Conservative Climate Caucus is a stark break from previous Republican stances and ideas on climate change.  Having an entire caucus dedicated to conservative legislative action on climate change is a major breakthrough for a party that constantly denied the existence of global warming not too long ago.  An optimist may see the establishment of this caucus as the first domino on the way to unifying the United States government on environmental and climate change policy.  While that may be overly idealistic, if anything, the Conservative Climate Caucus signifies an increased urge to act on climate change and environmental issues by Republicans.  

Having both major U.S. parties acknowledging the existence of climate change and working on policy solutions is much better than the current state of affairs on Capitol Hill where Democrats and Republicans squabble over the existence of climate change. Endless bickering over a scientific fact leads to political inaction, which is an outcome that cannot happen if the U.S is to lead the world in addressing climate change.  The Conservative Climate Caucus shows that there is a path to increased United States action against the dangers of global warming.

The Bad

The Conservative Climate Caucus is far from without flaws, and certain aspects of the caucus already raise some red flags.  First, the official website of the caucus, chooses its words very carefully when describing climate change.  For example the section entitled “What We Believe” states “The climate is changing, and decades of a global industrial era that has brought prosperity to the world has also contributed to that change”.  The caucus is keen to not directly link human-generated emissions as the main cause of climate change, suggesting that the industrial era only “contributed” to that change, when scientific data shows that human generated emissions are unequivocally the main driver of climate change.  

In addition to selective wording, the Conservative Climate Caucus already seems against the sweeping policy action and governmental intervention needed to effectively address climate change.  The caucus vows to  “fight against radical progressive climate proposals” and that “answers can be found in innovation embraced by the free market”.  Once again, this contradicts the scientific consensus that bold, immediate action needs to be taken across the world to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Finally, the Conservative Climate Caucus lacks support from influential, high-ranking leadership Republicans.  While it is important that almost a third of House of Representative Republicans are a part of the caucus, only 2 of the 9 members of the House Republican leadership are present in the caucus.  Additionally,  there is no caucus or similar group to the Conservative Climate Caucus within the Senate, and many popular Congressional Republicans still believe climate change is a hoax, signifying that global warming is still a divisive, contentious issue among conservatives.

The Unknown

As with such a new, and potentially influential, caucus in Congress, there are no shortage of important question marks surrounding the group.  Will they work with the current Biden administration for bipartisanship on environmental issues or prioritize their own GOP-led climate resolutions?  More importantly, will they use their political status as a Republican climate group to downplay the significance of climate change and further push smaller, insignificant, free-market solutions instead of the profound governmental legislation needed to address this issue?  Unfortunately, only time will tell how the Conservative Climate Caucus will impact U.S climate change policy.

Overall Outlook

The Conservative Climate Caucus has the potential to become an incredibly key player in US climate change policy.  As they continue to formulate their ideas, policy, and goals, it may be the first time there is clear bipartisan dialogue on significant climate action.  However, the willingness of this group to fully accept scientific consensus and the big changes needed to fight global warming will be the ultimate test of their legitimacy.  If they refuse to consider large, sweeping solutions, they may weaponize their status as conservative “climate activists” to further complicate the United States’ path to a better environmental future by backing environmental policies that may align with their GOP-ideals but fail to address the existential threat that looms over the world. Regardless, this caucus will certainly make their voice heard as the United States further wrestles with how to address climate change. 

Bibliography

Image Credit: Shutterstock

Adragna, Anthony. “Conservative Climate CAUCUS Head: GOP Has Shifted on Warming.” POLITICO, POLITICO, 7 July 2021, www.politico.com/news/2021/07/07/john-curtis-climate-caucus-gop-global-warming-498526.

“Conservative Climate Caucus.” Congressman Curtis, curtis.house.gov/conservative-climate-caucus/.

Hardin, Ari Drennen and Sally. “Climate Deniers in the 117th Congress.” Center for American Progress, 10 Aug. 2021, www.americanprogress.org/issues/green/news/2021/03/30/497685/climate-deniers-117th-congress/.

“How Do We Know That Humans Are the Major Cause of Global Warming?” Union of Concerned Scientists, www.ucsusa.org/resources/are-humans-major-cause-global-warming.

Jaipuriar, Rashika, and Sarah Bowman. “New GOP-Only Caucus Explicitly ACKNOWLEDGES Climate Change, but KEEPS Fossil Fuels on Its List of Solutions.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 26 June 2021, www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/06/25/utah-congressman-introduces-gop-only-caucus-address-climate-change/5346913001/.

Meredith, Sam. “Landmark U.N. Report Delivers Stark Warning on Climate Change, Says IT'S 'CODE Red for Humanity'.” CNBC, CNBC, 9 Aug. 2021, www.cnbc.com/2021/08/09/ipcc-report-un-climate-report-delivers-starkest-warning-yet.html.