Last week, Rep. Garret Graves introduced the GOP’s first Energy, Climate, and Conservation Task Force, which, over the next two months, will lay afor an alternative to the Democrats’ climate agenda. Many swing voters, particularly young people and suburbanites, will be grateful to hear another option that leans on a diverse and competitive market of clean technologies rather than government bureaucrats picking winners and losers.
Over the past year, the predictable consequences of liberal climate policies have quickly revealed themselves in the forms of energy insecurity, inflation, and war. Russian President Vladimir Putin took advantage of misguided energy transitions in Europe and weaponized them for his expansionist ambitions in Ukraine. American gas is helping clean up the mess for Europe, but Democrats are repeating the same radical top-down policies that got us to this point.
On the other hand, Republicans have struggled to convince voters that they care about climate change, which is becoming an increasingly prioritized problem. The ECC Task Force’s framework should allow Republican candidates confidently to pitch a more cohesive, transparent, and positive message that helps ensure voters that a successful energy transition doesn’t hinge on taxpayers spending trillions of dollars during inflationary times.