Following the most recent Republican primary debate, a young voter's question about the party's stance on the climate crisis invited chaotic responses from candidates on stage. This piercing yet crucial query followed weeks of devastating weather, setting record-breaking temperatures in the USA and leading to a high death toll from the Maui wildfires.
In a heated exchange, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, a state that has seen its share of extreme weather, refused to acknowledge human-induced climate change. He used the discourse to criticize media and President Biden's handling of the Maui situation. The youngest candidate, 38-year-old Vivek Ramaswamy, stirred the pot even more by calling the climate crisis a "hoax," drawing a chorus of boos.
According to a recent poll by Washington Post/University of Maryland, most Republicans - 55%- believe in human-induced climate change. Additionally, both Republicans and Democrats admit that their locales have experienced extreme heat in the past five years. Despite these shared experiences, there's a clear partisan divide when attributing climate change to extreme weather.
Benji Backer, founder of the American Conservation Coalition, a conservative climate group, discussed Ramaswamy's controversial stance post-debate. Ramaswamy allegedly clarified at an after-party that he does believe in climate change, a stark contrast to his earlier onstage declaration. "Climate change has existed as long as the Earth has existed. Manmade climate change has existed as long as man has on the earth," Ramaswamy stated in a clarification.
Ramaswamy's campaign spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin emphasized that Ramaswamy believes that climate change is real but asserted the current policies are more geared toward penalizing the West rather than addressing the climate crisis.
Ramaswamy's use of the term "hoax" to refer to the climate crisis drew close comparisons to the contentious stance of former President Donald Trump. Heather Reams, president of Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions, noted that Ramaswamy's comments received considerable negative backlash from the audience.
Ramaswamy's dismissive response towards climate change seemed to target an older voter base. However, Benji Backer warns that this strategy may alienate younger conservatives who are increasingly concerned about climate change.
Other Republican candidates, including former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, believe in climate change but argue that foreign nations bear larger responsibility to address it. Haley, along with South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, have been proponents of engaging with conservative groups on addressing the climate crisis.
Backer issued a stern warning against climate denial, stating its potential to drive away young voters. "If we nominate another person who doesn’t care, young people are not going to forget that. There’s not going to be a lot of baby boomers in 20 years, so you better start thinking about the next generation," Backer concluded.
