Seeking wiggle room from Republicans on climate change

Heather Reams apologized for being late to an interview with The Hill: She had been on a conference call with a GOP congressman discussing the benefits of climate-friendly energy tax credits.

That’s Reams’s job as the head of Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions (CRES) — to talk to Republicans about the climate and what they should do about it. 

It’s not always easy. 

Historically, most Republicans have been indifferent at best and hostile at worst to policies that aim to cut the nation’s planet-warming emissions. In 2015, then-Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) famously threw a snowball on the Senate floor as part of an effort to dismiss concerns about the issue. 

And, for many members, that hasn’t changed. An analysis from the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank, found earlier this year that 123 Republicans, including prominent members of House leadership, continue to deny the well-established fact human activity is causing global warming and wreaking havoc on the planet. 

The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which included historic investments in low-carbon energy, passed without a single GOP vote.

But Reams thinks things have shifted since she joined CRES eight years ago. 

"For a couple of years, it was a little bit lonely,” she said. “We had a few members who, behind closed doors, would say, 'Yeah, we'll talk about it, but don't quote me on it.'”

But now, she pointed to both the Bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus and the Conservative Climate Caucus as examples of Republicans who want to get serious about cutting emissions.

And while she sees herself as trying to work through the Republican Party to cut emissions and protect the environment, Reams says her organization is a big tent — open to working with people who want to engage on climate change for political as well as moral reasons. 

"People come to this issue for different reasons. And if someone's saying, like, ‘You know what, I want to win politically on this issue, and I don't really have a heart for climate change,’ that's OK," she said. “We'll meet the member, the person, whoever it is, where they are, and engage them.” 

The future of the IRA represents a major climate uncertainty moving forward. Republicans could try to repeal or pull it back if they win the House, Senate and presidency on Tuesday.

Former President Trump has said he would try to end many Biden-era climate policies, describing them as the “Green New Scam” and adding he’d try to rescind the law’s unspent climate dollars. 

Reams said her group is now “overall” trying to preserve many of the IRA’s tax credits. 

“Putting on more carbon-free energy is important to what we do,” Reams said. “It's an unusual position to be in when you didn't lobby ... the whole bill, and now you're like breaking [it] apart and saying, 'We like this, we like this. We like this.' It is an unusual situation.”

As her group works to convince Republicans to adopt climate-friendly policies, Reams said they are looking to create “carrots” rather than “sticks” for Republicans to support lower-carbon energy sources. 

“I just came off a call…with Rep. [Andrew] Garbarino [R-N.Y.], and it was a fundraiser for him, a virtual fundraiser, that’s a huge carrot,” she said. 

Garbarino, a co-chair of the Bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus, recently spearheaded a letter in which 18 Republicans warned House leadership against “prematurely repealing energy tax credits” like those in the IRA.

"The environmental left ... treats Republicans with a stick, and we all know that when you treat something with honey, you get more...than with vinegar, and that's exactly what CRES is trying to do," Reams said.  

Beyond tactics, Reams’s group differs from other climate advocates in another, major way. Most left-wing climate groups support a shift away from fossil fuels. Reams’s group takes a more “all-of-the above” approach to energy.

“As the world tries to have more energy, there is an opportunity for … developing nations to use coal or natural gas — we want them to use natural gas,” she said. 

When burned, natural gas has fewer planet-warming emissions than oil or coal, but it also still adds a significant amount of planet-warming carbon to the atmosphere — unlike energy generated from solar, wind and nuclear power. 

In addition to emissions from its use, gas production and processing also has significant greenhouse gas releases. 

However, a shift from coal to gas in the power sector has been credited with a significant drop in U.S. power plant emissions over the years, though the U.S. still remains the world’s second-largest emitter.

“If we're in the U.S., not using [gas] as much as other countries are, we still need to be producing and exporting it,” Reams said.