Climate watch: Conservatives care about climate change
The assumption has long been that only people on the political left are concerned about climate change. But there are many conservatives who beg to differ.
Andrew Eyerly, the Conservative Outreach Director for Citizens’ Climate Lobby points out that “Often, the most vociferous voices on climate change are left-of-center, and there is a common falsehood that conservatives do not care about climate. That is simply not true, and we must address this misconception.” Eyerly is originally from State College. He served as a medic in Iraq and Afghanistan and now lives in Georgia. He has been motivated by his “conservative values to advocate for less pollution and a stable climate.”
Utah’s Rep. John Curtis said in a recent interview, “Republicans for too long have told everyone what we don’t like. Now it’s important for us to articulate what we do like.”
Another conservative voice is Bob Inglis, former representative from South Carolina. The website of the organization he founded, RepublicEN, states that “Nobody should sacrifice their conservative values to protect the environment and our future. Our conservative values are not only part of our identity, they are key to effective climate solutions.”
To eliminate the emissions that are fueling global temperature rise, we need to switch from fossil fuels to electricity generated by renewable energy. We must find ways to store and transmit this new energy. Our appliances, factories and transportation will be transformed. We need better batteries and less wasteful ways of producing cement and steel, and many other things. This transition will call on the inventive genius of American industry, science and commerce.
Eyerly points out that “Conservatives can lead this shift with free-market solutions that boost the economy and bring good-paying clean energy jobs to our communities. A well-executed clean energy transition can strengthen American manufacturing as the continued build-out of renewables attracts billions of dollars to red states.”
Clean domestic energy is crucial for national security and for stable energy prices. The recent spike in oil prices on the global market has demonstrated that the U.S., despite its considerable fossil fuel production, is not insulated from the effects of foreign events.
Another misconception is that solutions will be too expensive. But the growing frequency of extreme weather events shows us that doing nothing is likely to be even more expensive, if not catastrophic. If you are a conservative who values fiscal responsibility, investing in clean energy and other measures to protect ourselves from the increasingly unstable weather is a no-brainer. Insured losses from extreme weather cost over $115 billion in 2022.
American agriculture leads the world in production, but it is being challenged by the effects of climate change. To protect our farmers and ensure an adequate food supply for ourselves and people around the world, we have to address climate change.
Eyerly is organizing the CCL Conservative Climate Leadership Conference in Washington, DC on March 28-29. The program features Curtis, as well as other representatives from industry and government, and concludes with lobbying conservative members of Congress about climate change.
CCL is a nonpartisan grassroots organization that welcomes people of all political points of view to work toward climate change solutions. If you are a conservative who is interested in attending the conference or wants to become involved in CCL’s work at the local level, please contact us at PaStateCollege@citizensclimatelobby.org.