National Harbor:
American conservatives holding a major convention are divided on climate issues such as whether carbon dioxide is good for the planet and whether global warming should be a priority for humanity in this day and age.
At the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), held through Saturday in suburban Washington, exhibit stands offer blue pamphlets that call on people to refute the idea that climate change is caused by humans.
“We know the climate is changing, but at this catastrophic level, we are having this kind of debate in our organization,” said Gabriela Hoffman, spokeswoman for CFACT, Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow.
At a stand situated between a replica of the Oval Office and a display of cookies in the red, white and blue of the American flag, Hoffman’s union is calling for overhauling what it calls a myth surrounding climate change.
Regarding alarming predictions that life on Earth will become exponentially worse if global warming is not curbed, she said: “Our organization disagrees with that statement because you hear those statements over and over again, and then they are so are not destructive”
‘I love CO2’
The latest alarming report from the UN panel on climate change, countries seeing year and year of record high temperatures, and other data on global warming are largely exaggerated, said Payne Kilburn, who is on a stand covered in pins nearby Stands that say “I love CO2.”
Kilburn, a nuclear engineer with a group called the CO2 Coalition, who was attending the conference for the third time, argues that carbon dioxide — released from the burning of fossil fuels, or the decay of organisms, for example — is good. for the planet.
“More CO2 is good for the planet. It helps plants grow,” Kilburn said, standing near a table offering koozies — cushion-like holders for keeping beverages cool — that “chill out.” . The polar bears aren’t going anywhere.”
Their alliance is known for making false statements, but Kilburn remains defiant. “We are the only scientific booth here. Everyone is politics and policy and we like to emphasize the science,” Kilburn said.
winning back young people
“It’s clear that we have opposing viewpoints on the other side,” said Morgan Chrisman, a 24-year-old Republican who has no doubt about the dangers of climate change. She represents the idea that fighting climate change should be a priority.
This is the minority opinion at CPAC, which holds panel discussions that praise oil as the world’s main energy source.
Chrisman said, “The environmental cause has been very left-driven the whole time and that has alienated a lot of young people and made them think that the GOP doesn’t have a solution.” About the Republican Party.
She represents a group that calls itself the Young Conservatives for a Carbon Dividend.
In the last two US congressional elections, young voters in fact overwhelmingly chose progressive candidates, making the fight against global warming a priority.
Chrisman’s group says they believe “capitalism is the solution to climate change.”
“We think there are capitalism-first, market-based solutions that are far more effective than the solutions being touted by the left, but do not compromise conservative values,” she said, alluding to the idea of holding China accountable. Where did you go? Its major role in climate change.
“Everybody under 40 is excited about what we’re doing,” she said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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