Small Group Of GOPers To Affirm Climate Change Ahead Of Pope’s Visit

UNITED STATES - JULY 11: Rep. Chris Gibson, R-N.Y., is interviewed by Roll Call in his Longworth office, July 11, 2014. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call) (CQ Roll Call via AP Images)
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A group of House Republicans plans to call for action on climate change in time for Pope Francis’ visit to the Washington, D.C. next week, according to National Journal.

Rep. Chris Gib­son (R-NY) penned a resolution stating that human activity contributes to climate change and urged his fellow Republicans to sign on.

“This is a call for ac­tion to study how hu­mans are im­pact­ing our en­vir­on­ment and to look for con­sensus on areas where we can take ac­tion to mit­ig­ate the risks and bal­ance our im­pacts,” he told National Journal.

The resolution, which was first reported by ClimateWire, has gained the signatures of nine House Republicans in addition to Gibson, according to National Journal. They hope to unveil the resolution as soon as Thursday.

Rep. Robert Dold (R-IL), one of the Republicans who signed onto the resolution, said he doesn’t believe climate change should be political.

“As an Eagle Scout and Scoutmaster for many years, I know firsthand why we must all work to strengthen conservation programs and other policies that promote public health, protect our environment and keep our air clean,” Dold said in a statement to TPM. “Climate change is occurring and human contributions to this change are important to acknowledge and understand. Protecting the environment is not a partisan issue, which is why we must work together to find a sensible path forward that improves our planet for future generations.”

Pope Francis has been outspoken in calling for world leaders to address the impacts of climate change. And numerous Republicans, including Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-KS) and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush have dismissed the Pope’s comments.

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  1. Gibson is retiring from Congress to run for Governor of New York in 2018. He is an Upstate conservative who is trying to soften his image for a statewide run in a state dominated by Downstate liberals. It could work. Pataki knocked off Mario Cuomo and a moderate Republican could knock off Andrew Cuomo, who has made a lot of enemies, even in his own party. If Cuomo takes a pass on a third term, my bet is on AG Schneiderman, who is clearly positioning himself to run. I think he would beat Gibson.

  2. TPM:

    Rep. Chris Gib­son (R-NY) penned a resolution stating that human activity contributes to climate change and urged his fellow Republicans to sign on.

    “This is a call for ac­tion to study how hu­mans are im­pact­ing our en­vir­on­ment…”

    … and not do anything about it.

    We know how humans are impacting the environment and global warming - adversely. We’ve been studying it for 50-60 years. A call for more studies is just another excuse to delay action for another decade or more.

  3. Avatar for agio agio says:

    “Action to study” reminds me of some of the meetings I have to attend at work, where the purpose of the meeting is to plan another meeting.

  4. Hell, at this point even I’d consider voting for a Republican over Cuomo, and I’ve never voted for a Republican in my life. But if we’re going to have a governor that acts like a Republican, and secretly supports Republicans taking over the State Leg. despite the will of the people who successfully voted in a Democratic legislature, then I’d rather it be an actual Republican instead of Cuomo giving Democrats a bad name.

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