Walden, Shimkus, Upton promote Republican climate change plan

Republican leaders on the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee this week advocated for a GOP climate plan in anticipation of Democrats releasing their new strategy.

“Climate change is real. If we’re serious about tackling this challenge, we need to continue to offer serious, bipartisan answers that protect our economy and our environment,” said the committee’s ranking member U.S. Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR) along with U.S. Reps. John Shimkus (R-IL) and Fred Upton (R-MI), Republican leaders on the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and Climate and the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy, respectively.

“Our solutions focus on innovation, conservation, and preparation; they are not prescriptive, nor are they partisan, but they are effective,” the lawmakers said in their July 23 joint statement. “As Republican leaders on the Committee on Energy and Commerce, we’ve proven this approach works.”

According to a July 23 Energy and Commerce Committee blog, The Republican Record on Climate, America leads the world in lowering carbon emissions because the nation leads the way with innovation, adaptation and conservation.

“Those are the Republican principles Democrats should support so we can continue to be good stewards of our environment and our economy,” according to the blog. “Republicans have led with solutions to reduce carbon emissions, modernize America’s power generation, boost clean energy and emissions-free nuclear power, promote energy efficiency, and empower industry to lead the way in producing cleaner energy through innovation rather than through a massive takeover by the federal government.”

Reps. Walden, Shimkus and Upton said on Tuesday, “This is the path forward to achieve lasting results to reduce emissions, develop and export clean energy technologies, and make our communities more resilient.”

The lawmakers also noted that at the same time, the GOP plan will ensure “affordable and reliable energy prices [while] prioritizing the consumer and American security and prosperity.”