A decade ago, in 2014, The Guardian ran an article on the verge of Republicans taking complete control of Congress titled, “Meet the Republicans in Congress who don’t believe climate change is real.” The names on that list included Sens. Lisa Murkowski and John Barrasso, and Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Greg Walden and Kevin McCarthy, among others.
For those who have paid attention to the clean energy and climate debate, especially in Congress over the last several years, that list is hilariously ironic. Each of the lawmakers The Guardian labeled as “a climate change skeptic” is now seen as a leading advocate for clean energy innovation, commonsense environmental protections, and America’s role in reducing global emissions.
That is not a partisan statement. Mention the names above to any neutral observer of this debate and they will tell you the same thing.
Lisa Murkowski and John Barrasso spearheaded the passage of the landmark Energy Act of 2020 through Congress, which President Trump signed into law and included critical advancements for clean energy like carbon capture and nuclear energy. Its many provisions that set a moonshot program for clean energy innovation at the Department of Energy, phased out harmful climate super-pollutants, and provided tax credits for clean energy of all kinds were praised as the most important climate and clean energy bill passed to that point.
In 2018, Barrasso wrote an op-ed in The New York Times titled, “Cut Carbon Through Innovation, Not Regulation,” and declared, “The climate is changing and we, collectively, have a responsibility to do something about it.”
Greg Walden and Fred Upton together wrote that “climate change is real” and called for “a serious, solutions-oriented discussion about how to address this challenge.” Both served as chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and advanced innovative solutions to boost American clean energy.
Cathy McMorris Rodgers, current chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, has advanced legislation through the committee to boost nuclear energy and hydropower. She also wrote an op-ed for Fox News, titled “How to depolarize the climate change debate.”
This shift is not due to changing philosophy or policy positions — these leaders have always been conservatives. This shift results from conservatives deciding to own the clean energy and climate debate, something we have been proud to support over the last decade.
Look across the political landscape, from Congress to states to the energy industry, and you will find conservatives engaging heavily in these debates — and winning them. It is not abnormal for Republicans to talk about clean energy and climate change; it is now expected.
In 2020, Congressman Dan Crenshaw wrote an op-ed in the National Review titled, “It’s Time for Conservatives to Own the Climate-Change Issue” and then ran an ad in his re-election campaign that began with him speaking directly to the camera: “I’m an environmentalist. And I know climate change is real.”
The next year, in 2021, Crenshaw joined leaders like Reps. John Curtis, Garret Graves and Mariannette Miller-Meeks for the first-ever Republican-led delegation to the United Nations climate conference.
When Republicans took back the majority in 2022, conservatives leaned into the clean energy debate even further. Champions like McMorris Rodgers, Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman and Majority Leader Steve Scalise passed H.R. 1, landmark legislation that would lower costs while streamlining clean energy projects across the country.
At the state level, look to governors like Mark Gordon, who is pushing for energy solutions like carbon capture in Wyoming, or Greg Abbott, who is looking at innovative clean energy solutions like nuclear energy in Texas.
There is no shortage of conservative leaders in this space today, and they all have one thing in common: supporting American-driven innovation that allows us to lead the world in emissions reductions while also providing reliable, affordable, clean energy here at home and around the world.
That is how conservatives can continue to own the clean energy and climate debate for the next decade: by advocating for the kind of innovation only America can produce. Whether it’s clean hydrogen from natural gas, nuclear energy, carbon capture, geothermal, or any new energy technologies being developed daily, American innovation is the clear path forward for the entire world.
When we look at the challenges of deploying this innovation — overregulation, burdensome permitting laws — it’s conservative, free-market arguments that are best suited to break down these barriers.
Conservatives have proven over the past decade that we are not only willing to engage in the climate and clean energy debate, we are eager to own it with commonsense ideas.
We should be proud of this progress, but we cannot be complacent. We can and must continue to lead on this critical issue because our country is best served when conservatives bring their own clean energy policy to the table, grounded in American innovation.
Rich Powell is the CEO of ClearPath, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that develops and advances policies that accelerate innovations to reduce and remove global energy emissions.
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