GOP moderates to push to fight climate change

A group of moderate Republicans is working on a resolution calling for action to fight climate change.

The effort, led by Rep. Chris Gibson (R-N.Y.) seeks to get at least some in the GOP on the record as agreeing with Democrats and the vast majority of scientists that the climate is changing and that human activity is to blame.

But it would stop short of endorsing any particular policy to reduce greenhouse gases, instead calling for research into what could be done about it, according to a GOP aide familiar with the declaration.

The lawmakers are planning to introduce their non-binding legislation Thursday, exactly a week before Pope Francis speaks to Congress.

Francis is expected to make climate change a major part of his speech, following on the heels of his encyclical earlier this year calling on the world to fight climate change.

“As an Eagle Scout and Scoutmaster for many years, I know firsthand why we must all work to strengthen conservation programs and other policies that promote public health, protect our environment and keep our air clean,” Rep. Robert Dold (R-Ill.) said in a statement.

“Climate change is occurring and human contributions to this change are important to acknowledge and understand,” he said. “Protecting the environment is not a partisan issue, which is why we must work together to find a sensible path forward that improves our planet for future generations.”

ClimateWire first reported on the resolution Friday.

Reps. Ileana Ros-Le­htin­en (R-Fla.), Car­los Cur­belo (R-Fla.), Dave Reich­ert (R-Wash.), Patrick Mee­han (R-Pa.), Ry­an Cos­tello (R-Pa.), Mike Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), Richard Hanna (R-N.Y.) and Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) told National Journal that they are also co-sponsoring the measure. 

Republicans have stood united against President Obama’s climate policies, including carbon emissions limits for power plants, saying such rules would hurt the economy and jobs.

Some measures in Congress, such as legislation sponsored by then-Reps. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) in 2009 to implement a cap-and-trade system for carbon, have gotten a handful of Republicans on board.

But overall, the GOP has not been eager to fight climate change or go on record linking human activity to it.

Gibson, who represents a very moderate district, told National Journal that the resolution “is a call for ac­tion to study how hu­mans are im­pact­ing our en­vir­on­ment and to look for con­sensus on areas where we can take ac­tion to mit­ig­ate the risks and bal­ance our im­pacts.”