Republican Lindsey Graham Challenges His Own Party On Key Issue

Presidential candidate Lindsey Graham (R-SC) challenged members of his own party when he addressed the climate crisis at a convention in New Hampshire hosted by the bi-partisan group, No Labels.

Unlike his GOP competitors, Graham is one of only a few Republicans who admits climate change is real and needs immediate attention. He asked the audience if there was anyone who also acknowledged this fact, and half of the attendees raised their hands and applauded.

“I do, too,” Graham said. “So here’s the trade-off. For those of you who believe climate change is real, you’re gonna have to deal with a guy like me who will push a lower carbon economy over time and in a business friendly way. The great trade-off is energy producers and environmentalists in a room trying to find, over a 50 year period, a way to go to a lower-carbon economy while in the meantime responsibly exploring for fossil fuels that we own and trying to create alternative energy in every sector of the economy.”

After Graham asserted that climate change must be solved in a business-friendly way, which includes support for fossil fuel extraction, an audience member shouted “Keep it in the ground.” Nature published an article in January 2015 which noted that in order to avoid catastrophic climate change, fossil fuel needs to remain in the ground.

Graham accused Democrats of viewing climate change as a “religion” while pointing out Republicans refuse to accept the mainstream consensus by scientists on climate science.

“It is, to me folks, a problem that needs to be solved, not a religion. So to my friends on the left who are making this a religion, you’re making a mistake. To my friends on the right who deny the science, tell me why.”

Graham told audience members that he is “not a scientist,” and he joked that in school, he received a “D” in science only because the teacher didn’t give “F’s.” However, he continued, he has seen first-hand the way that the climate crisis is changing the landscape and lifestyle of places around the globe, from Alaska to Antarctica.

“I’ve been to the Antarctic. I’ve been to Greenland. I’ve been to Alaska and I’ve heard from people who live in these regions how the climate is changing. And when 90 percent of climatologists tell you that it’s real, who am I to tell them they don’t know what they’re talking about?”

Graham’s numbers are slightly off—97 percent of climate scientists, not 90 percent, believe that climate change is real and primarily caused by human activity. It’s possible that Graham’s acceptance and acknowledgement of climate science could benefit him in the upcoming election. A recent poll shows that Americans on both sides of the political fence believe that congressional representatives should have an understanding of science that informs public policy.

Graham’s speech concluded with his plan to combat climate change while helping business. He said the trade-off would be more nuclear power, more oil and gas exploration and a push toward low-carbon technologies.

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