Conservatives see room for legislative action on clean energy amid pandemic

Provisions promoting clean energy should be part of any congressional action aimed at charting a path toward economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, a panel of conservative advocates for climate action said Wednesday.

In the last few years, Republicans' views on climate change have evolved from denial to acceptance of the fact that carbon levels are unsustainable and causing problems across the country, whether it be sea level rise, droughts, wildfires or more extreme weather, agreed panelists during a webinar hosted by the sustainability nonprofit Ceres.

As such, the conversation in the GOP has increasingly turned to methods for tackling the problem with conservative, pro-growth policies, said Corey Schrodt, chief of staff to Republican Representative Francis Rooney of Florida.

Previous work in the space has primarily come from the left, producing "a more heavy-handed approach and government mandates that are more prescriptive than what Republicans are comfortable with," said Heather Reams, executive director of Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions. CRES runs a grassroots campaign promoting conservative solutions to energy, economic and environmental challenges.

Now that Republican policymakers have moved beyond the notion that engaging on climate is tantamount to dismantling capitalism, there can be more discussion of free market solutions to reducing emissions, Reams said.

Though the country continues to struggle with ramifications from the coronavirus outbreak, now is not the time to go silent or drop the issue, panelists concurred.

The immediate and midterm response to the outbreak ensured consumers were protected from unnecessary exposure to the virus and in their homes without risk of eviction or power shutoffs. "The next step is figuring out how to reopen the economy, ... and there is absolutely no reason why" high-tech clean energy jobs and work associated with constructing clean energy infrastructure should not be a part of the conversation as lawmakers contemplate the next piece of stimulus legislation, Schrodt said.

Messaging

Key to building further conservative support for climate action, a necessary component of advancing bipartisan solutions, will be the right messaging, Conservatives for Clean Energy President and CEO Mark Fleming said. His organization spreads awareness about the economic benefits of clean energy in the Southeast.

What works are economic messages, such as talking about the jobs created in clean energy; messaging on the duty to take care of God's creation as it relates to climate; and discussions around market-based solutions, Fleming said of tactics his group has found to be successful.

"What doesn't work is anything that is viewed as alarmist, ... and anything that is perceived as top-down, anything that's of Washington," he added.

For instance, imposing a carbon tax is a nonstarter in conservative circles, Fleming said, but putting a price on carbon is a topic where there is room for discussion.

Reams offered that before getting bogged down on a carbon tax fight with little political feasibility for moving forward, there is "a lot of low hanging fruit that we need to go and grab."

She pointed to forthcoming stimulus packages and resumption of consideration of two bipartisan Senate bills, one out of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the other from the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, as vehicles for getting "the economy going now," rather than "waiting for the perfect political makeup for a carbon tax to work."

Politically viable

The bipartisan nature of ENR's American Energy Innovation Act and EPW's America's Transportation Infrastructure Act make them politically viable, Reams said. The first looks at innovation and grid modernization, while the latter includes the first-ever climate title in a transportation bill, with $10 billion for climate-focused programs and policies.

While some have criticized that those bills are not enough and advocated for a comprehensive legislative package on climate, Reams said: "I'm under the belief that it's going to be a lot of singles and doubles over a period of time. We've got to start someplace, and those are two very good bills."

Schrodt said that moving any type of comprehensive package in the House would also be very difficult, agreeing that climate policy would likely advance as "pieces of a very, very large puzzle."

He was less optimistic about that movement occurring soon, or even this year, noting setbacks in the House triggered by the lack of hearings and meetings due to pandemic precautions.

Further, "as partisan as Republicans and Democrats can be, the differences between the House and Senate can sometimes be even bigger," he said. "Until you see something that the Democratic Party [in the House] would pick up as their piece moving forward, I don't think you'll see the smaller pieces of the puzzle fall into place."