In his first days in office, President Trump began what he had promised was Joe Biden's environmental policy. I'll dismantle it.
Shortly after entering the White House, Trump described climate change as a “hoologue” — issued an executive order to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Another executive order has passed him under the Inflation Reduction Act with grants for Clean Energy and other environmental programs. Funds for electric vehicle incentives and subsidies for charging stations will also be suspended. What brings together all of these moves is that Trump's executive order declares a national energy emergency.
“We need reliable, diverse and affordable energy to promote our country's manufacturing, transportation, agriculture and defense industries,” reads the order.
Left-wing environmentalists are shaky, suggesting that Trump's move will plunge the planet into a new round of climate catastrophe. “No one in American history shows more lightly on the environment,” said Kieran Sackling, executive director of the Center for Biodiversity. “[Trump’s] Anti-environmental agendas are overwhelmingly unpopular and are truly a threat to life on Earth. ”
However, not all environmental advocates are pessimistic. They are called the new Green Conservative Brigade. The combination of nonprofits, political action committees and podcasters represents the rising movement of environmentalists who believe you can care about the planet and still retain conservative values. Despite Trump's early actions, they say they have hope for what a new four years will bring. And one of their big goals is to regain the environmental debate from the left and make it their own.
“When ordinary people see climate change, protesters are thinking about blocking traffic and slowing people down, and they don't feel that represents them,” said U.S. civil servants. says Daniel Butcher Franz, CEO of the Conservation Union (ACC) in his 20s.
The fast-growing environmental nonprofit was founded in 2017 by a group of university students. Currently, it has over 60,000 members and has field offices in four states. The group, according to Franz, provided “space for people who don't feel represented by the mainstream environmental movement,” and created the Ulysses S. Grant, the country's first national park, which created the country's first national park. ) and is inspired by the legacy of former Republican presidents. , Teddy Roosevelt (who protected 230 million acres of public land) and Richard Nixon (who created the EPA and signed the Clean Air Act). “The Republicans aren't defending this message,” Franz says, but “Thankfully, we're beginning to make a difference.
Franz said the American Conservation Union will include new EPA chief Lee Zeldin, new Interior Secretary Doug Burgham, and Energy Chris Wright, who spoke at the 2023 ACC annual summit. “I have a positive relationship with some.” Interior and EPA We are very hoping to have the right people in the right seats,” Franz was enthusiastic.
On the inauguration weekend, the ACC was on the scene in Washington, DC, and co-hosted a party called the Power 30 Awards at the city's sax lounge. At an event co-hosted by Tiktok and conservative media outlet The Daily Signal, some guests wore green maga-style baseball caps decorated with the slogan “Make America Beautiful Again.”
In contrast to the rebellious climate denialism of many conservatives over the past decades, green conservatives do not dispute that climate change is occurring or that carbon emissions are part of the cause. . If they are different from their left-wing nature-loving counterparts, they come down to priorities.
Environmental conservatives tend to go towards an all-attitude approach to energy policy. So, on the left, it's grown with solar panels and wind farms (President Trump's specific bogeyman), but the ACC website trumpets nuclear power as a clean energy source and releases all of the US energy sources. promotes energy control. ”
Among the group's other priorities is reform allowed. Carbon storage; Active forest management (a fire prevention approach defended by Trump); Regenerative agriculture and ecosystem conservation. “We do a lot of local community action projects,” Franz says. She adds: and Environmental conservation. So, yeah, we absolutely see the sun and the wind as part of it. However, consumers believe they have the equipment to determine which energy source is best for them. ”
Another central environmental advocacy group is ClearPath, a DC-based clean energy organization. ClearPath CEO Jeremy Harrell said he is optimistic about progress under the Trump administration and that the post also considers its strong environmental fuel priorities. “Our mission is to innovate America, which can reduce global energy emissions,” says Harrell. “From how to catalyze next-generation advanced nuclear reactors to how to make steel with lower carbon, everything. We can decarbonize the use of coal or gas for power generation. We are working on reducing emissions across the natural gas supply chain.”
Clearpass also allows geothermal energy (using the heat generated in the Earth's crust, for electricity), hydroelectric power generation, and rapid development. “I think one of the biggest barriers to expanding clean energy in this country is our broken regulatory system,” Harrell says.
But ClearPath has spoken about solar power in the past, and today the sun and wind (both are on the Trump hit list). “The Biden administration was very climatic, and that was the first thing they would mention,” Harrell says. “Frankly, I don't think it has to be a political issue achieved by progressive and traditional environmental communities.”
Advancing environmental goals under Trump could lead to messaging and labeling. Already, some clean energy companies, such as airlines that convert captured CO2 into jet fuel, have positioned their technology as “defense technology” that supports America's national security. And as big banks and tech companies regain their climate commitment, others are engaged in what they call “green hashing.” According to a 2022 report by South Pole, developer of Climate Solutions, these companies continue to pursue their carbon emission reduction goals, but they don't often talk about this work publicly.
David Spence – “Climate of Contempt: How To Rescuting Us Energy Transition from Voter Partisanship,” author of UT Austin professor David Spence said that Texas's Red State has become Texas' biggest clean energy market. He says that. Country by Gigawatts. In the second quarter of 2024, he surpassed Blue California as the largest solar student in the United States.
“We've been avoiding the term climate here for a long time,” says Spence, referring to Texas' clean power sector. “It's been a strategy for a long time here in Texas. Those who want to boost renewables talk about energy independence and being an energy leader.”
Voting on these issues makes it clear that Republicans are not monoliths. A survey by the Pew Research Center in October found that 56% of Republicans and 56% of those responsible for climate policy “harms the economy” and 54% of Republicans say climate news is “What's on Earth?” He said he felt sad if it was happening. “The latter figures track the findings of political data consultants' North wind climate surveys. They recently said that 51% of voters who pulled Trump's lever in his first term “who knew something was being produced sustainably, they would pay a little more for something.” He voted for it.
“What we've found and tried to support is that businesses have products that are targeted solely at Democrats, or only those who voted for Democrats, rule out most of your potential consumer base. That's what it is,” adds Burgess.
Other Green Conservative players include Ecoright (founded by former Republican Rep. Bob Inglis), who hosts a podcast called Ecoright Speaks. Green Tea Party Radio, the costumes from the podcast, whose slogan is “Green is a new red.” Conservamerica is a nonprofit focused on conservative solutions to energy and environmental issues. PERC is a nonprofit focused on nature conservation.
It remains to be seen whether these voices on the right will be effective in the coming years. But the American Conservation Union has proven that one already is highly influential in itself. In 2020, ACC founder Bucker and its president Chris Bernard hiked with then-Utah Rep. John Curtis. Along the way, it sparked the idea that debate would start a Republican caucus dedicated to environmental causes. Curtis, now a Republican Senator in Utah, later founded the conservative climate caucus.
This could create a bipartisan environmental law that will come from Capitol Hill over the next few years, Harrell said. “The political debate here in DC has changed dramatically over the past five to eight years,” he says. “You see Republican leaders leaning towards this with their own solutions. There's far more common ground than people are realising.”
