We are two Republicans who, for the sake of our young kids and the country, are dedicated to helping America lead on climate. This got one of us (Neil) sacked by President Trump and helped the other (Carlos) outperform Trump by 13 points in a 2016 congressional race.
We applaud the Inflation Reduction Act’s historic investment of almost $370 billion in energy- and climate-related subsidies, grants, and loans. We also recognize that much remains to be done. Bipartisan climate action is necessary if the nation is serious about delivering a healthy and prosperous planet to future generations.
We propose that the highest-leverage opportunity for philanthropists committed to achieving emissions reductions is investing in what’s known as the “eco-right” — the field of climate-forward, conservative nonprofits that is uniquely positioned to push, pull, and guide Republicans to climate leadership and bipartisan policy wins.
The Inflation Reduction Act, or IRA, is predicted to result in a 7 to 10 percent deeper cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 — an estimate some say is too optimistic. Even if the hopeful assumptions driving these estimates hold true, significant further emissions cuts are needed to reach the Biden administration’s emissions goal. To do that, the United States would need to pass legislation in the near term that results in emissions cuts equal to one to three times the IRA’s projected result.
The IRA’s limited scope as a budget bill means it doesn’t adequately address, among other things, critical regulatory roadblocks to clean-energy deployment or early-stage technological invention and innovation. It also lacks mechanisms to affect decarbonization in other countries.
Don’t get us wrong: Progress on emissions reductions is worthy of praise. Yet, cobbling together partisan climate bills is not a sustainable plan for decarbonizing the economy. Creative, bipartisan pathways are our only shot at sufficient — and sufficiently fast — decarbonization.
From now until 2050, there will be at least four different presidents and 15 congresses. Climate hawks can’t simply wait for the stars to align and for one party to control everything. It’s essential to reach far higher than whatever the Senate parliamentarian will allow during the reconciliation process, which permits a simple majority to pass budget legislation.
Bipartisanship, in other words, is unavoidable.
We propose a strategy that climate philanthropy has not yet tried: driving robust funding to eco-right organizations in ways that expand the impact of the entire field. This will supercharge the already-growing Republican appetite for curbing emissions and enable durable bipartisan legislative victories.
Some may cite congressional Republicans’ unanimous rejection of the IRA as proof that conservatives oppose meaningful climate action. But that mischaracterizes the reality behind the lack of Republican support for the bill and ignores significant recent shifts. Notably, the legislation was not solely about climate. It also featured health care and tax components that Republicans have always opposed.
If many of the climate elements in the IRA were part of a stand-alone bill, Republican support would have increased. This is evident from the number of climate bills enacted in recent years with bipartisan backing — many of which have provisions similar to those in the Inflation Reduction Act. These bipartisan, emissions-cutting laws include the Energy Act of 2020, the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act, the Infrastructure and Jobs Act, and last month’s Kigali Amendment ratification, which will phase out hydrofluorocarbons used in refrigerators and air conditioning.
Together these legislative actions are funneling billions of dollars into low-, zero-, and negative-carbon solutions and equipping energy and conservation programs with unprecedented resources.
Conservatives’ growing interest in climate is driven by several forces. First, the effects of climate change have become harder to ignore as communities in Republican strongholds such as Louisiana and Texas wrestle with coastal flooding and drought-stricken farmland. Second, decarbonization offers increasingly attractive economic opportunities. And third, growing numbers of conservative voters — especially young conservatives — support responsible climate action.
But there is a looming obstacle impeding bold bipartisanship on climate. Democrats have an established and powerful civil-society ecosystem that supports climate policy ambition and governing capacity. Republicans do not.
Philanthropy has a crucial role to play in fixing this problem by strengthening the impact of the eco-right field, which consists of about two dozen climate-focused nonprofits and allied groups, all of which share a commitment to decarbonization.
Eco-right leaders have diverse views but tend to support more market-based approaches and policies that focus on reducing emissions — not on picking specific industries as winners or losers. Conservative climate activists also often back regulatory reform in instances where government is hampering decarbonization, choice, or innovation. Most have a special appreciation for the importance of nuclear energy, carbon capture and storage, and nature-based carbon sequestration — all solutions included in the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports on reaching net-zero carbon emissions.
Collectively, eco-right nonprofits engage with all the constituencies necessary to move conservatives toward ambitious climate leadership, including conservative-base voters, military, business, evangelicals, Gen Z, and hunters and other outdoor enthusiasts. They deploy distinct but complementary strategies, such as grassroots education and policy research.
The field is already proving its potential. When conservatives on Capitol Hill talk about climate change, eco-right leaders are there, educating members and staff about the issue and providing them with substantive policy and messaging support.
For example, the conservative climate nonprofit ClearPath routinely provides expert witnesses for congressional hearings and analysis of climate policy. Groups such as the Climate Leadership Council, where Neil is a senior policy adviser, and the American Conservation Coalition, where Carlos serves on the board of advisers, also work regularly to inform members of Congress and mobilize, respectively, business leaders and Gen Z conservatives in decarbonization efforts.
Eco-right leaders’ educational campaigns contributed to the launch of the U.S. House of Representatives Conservative Climate Caucus, which includes more than 70 Republicans. Conservative climate leaders also helped craft and promote a new climate agenda released by the House Republicans’ Energy, Climate, and Conservation Task Force.
We’ve seen important movement in the Senate, as well. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), and Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) introduced a climate plan last year with a concrete emissions goal and timeline. And Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) released a robust climate agenda of his own.
To those who say this is not nearly enough, we agree. While some eco-right organizations have grown to wield significant influence, including, but not limited to, the examples above, many groups lack the support to achieve large-scale national impact. As a well-funded and coordinated field, however, the eco-right’s collective force could be a game changer, accelerating conservative climate ambition and hastening the arrival of bold bipartisan climate leadership.
All pragmatic donors who care about reducing emissions, wherever they fall on the political spectrum, should seize this opportunity. A 2018 study found that across climate philanthropy, less than 2 percent of funding for climate communications and mobilization was devoted to engaging conservatives or Republicans. Eco-right groups have made a lot happen with little. But boosting philanthropic giving from less than 2 percent to 10 percent would change the laws of political physics.
Surely, if funding liberal climate nonprofits were enough, the United States would be much further along in leading the world toward solutions. Cross-party coalitions are essential to delivering the transformative results that will advance, build on, and outpace the IRA’s decarbonization goals. Bipartisan climate action is not a luxury — it’s a necessity.
