Climate change can often be a loaded term in the realm of American politics. Despite a deep consensus by most scientists and the global community at large, conservatives in the United States are often skeptical about the subject. For many American conservatives, the idea of climate change is still disregarded as just a theory. However, as the evidence mounts, some right-leaning thinkers have begun to change their tune, based on the long term socioeconomic risks brought on by systematically ignoring the crisis. One such right-leaning thinker, Jerry Taylor formerly of the Cato Institute, believes that widespread reversal in climate change denial in conservative circles is possible through the power of persuasion.
Previously, Taylor had aggressively pushed against climate change awareness in op-eds for newspapers and appearances on TV. However, Taylor now heads the Niskanen Center which is pushing for a progressive federal carbon tax in the hopes of discouraging fuel emissions. Taylor is not the only voice on the right calling for a regression in fossil fuel use. Former State Secretary George Schultz and Exxon Mobil are also among the growing number of previous climate change deniers suddenly changing the tune.
While highlighting the increasingly efficient and cost-effective clean energy market is useful towards building bipartisan support, Taylor believes that convincing people of the validity of climate change will ultimately be the deciding factor towards reversing the tide before it is too late. Taylor establishes a four-step process towards convincing skeptics of the truth.
The first step is to “pick the right targets” in that focusing on changing the minds of political “elites.” The second step is to “depoliticize the issue” which Taylor hopes to do by focusing more on the direct facts of the situation and advocating for market solutions rather than the outright regulation that the right is so often allergic to. This flows into the third step which is “pick the right policies” which former GOP Congressman Bob Inglis says means that conservatives must hear solutions such as the carbon tax “in the language of conservatism.” Again, this leads directly to the last step, “find areas of common ground” where expansion of clean energy policies can stimulate things like economic growth and national security, things every red-blooded conservative can get behind.
Some organizations such as the Heritage Foundation and Competitive Enterprise Institute have already hit back against any clean energy initiatives. Also, the strategy of blending environmental policy to the economic may lead to a weakening of the former at the expense of the latter. Nonetheless, Taylor and other like-minded individuals are confident that real change on the conservative front in this area is possible. Whether that hope is well-reasoned will be seen in time.
