"Denial-Lite - 25% Less Bullshit!" Environmental Astroturf Groups Will Seek To Dominate House GQP
Conservative clean energy groups have built considerable influence with Republican lawmakers over the last four years. Now they’re set to take a leading role as the GOP prepares to take over the House. ClearPath, Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions and a coalition of similar organizations have spent millions on lobbying efforts and have consistently gotten an audience with lawmakers to make the case for the “energy innovation” agenda. They’ve become star witnesses for Republicans at hearings.
They’ve also helped prod Republicans on climate change, moving the party away from outright denialism. GOP leaders have adopted many of the groups’ energy policy talking points. Leaders of the groups say their ultimate plan is to rival Democratic efforts.
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ClearPath, CRES and the American Conservation Coalition were all founded less than a decade ago. During the Obama years, many congressional Republicans loudly and openly denied the overwhelming scientific consensus that showed greenhouse gases were warming the planet. By 2018, however, many in the party had dropped that position, spurred on in part by polling from conservative clean energy groups that showed climate denial was unpopular, particularly with younger voters. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who is looking to become speaker next year, formed a Climate, Energy and Conservation Task Force, led by Graves, to develop policy for the party ahead of the 2022 midterms.
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Despite the recent movement on climate, Republicans still don’t support new regulatory regimes or even a carbon tax. GOP lawmakers also vehemently opposed the Inflation Reduction Act, a historic suite of clean energy investments that many experts say is vital to reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and meeting the nation’s goals in order to keep warming under 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels. But Quill Robinson, vice president of government affairs for the American Conservation Coalition, noted that the Conservative Climate Caucus, led by Rep. John Curtis (R-Utah), is among the largest groups in Congress and that Republicans may be led by a speaker next year who has unveiled a climate plan. “I’ve heard all the different criticisms about those two things, the caveats and all of that,” Robinson said. “But when I think back to 2018 and the state of the conversation then, we’re living in a completely different world.”
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https://www.eenews.net/articles/conservative-climate-groups-to-wield-power-in-gop-house/
