Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes
- Rep. John Curtis, R-Utah, is working to reshape perceptions about Republicans and conservation by spearheading initiatives that aim to create open dialogue on climate issues without partisan bias.
- Curtis, who founded the Conservative Climate Caucus, acknowledges the stereotype that Republicans typically deny climate change but advocates for a balanced conversation that includes all energy sources.
- He faces criticism from both ends of the political spectrum, including Democratic Senate candidate Caroline Gleich, who argues his efforts are merely distractions.
OREM — On a recent trip through the congressional district he represents, Rep. John Curtis and his staff stopped the car to take photos of the sunset at Forrest Gump Point in Monument Valley.
The congressman described a panorama with a double rainbow to the left, flanked by the iconic sandstone buttes, all backdropped by a blazing sunset that prompted debate as to whether it was a raging forest fire just over the horizon. While the scene was "remarkably beautiful," Curtis said it was "not unique" to the type of beauty he encounters nearly every day while traversing Utah's 3rd Congressional District.
"We would come upon a grove of aspen, sprinkled with green pines and the sun shining down on those aspen, glistening," was how the Republican described a trip from Kanab to Cedar City he took just days ago. "When you see this, and you have these moments, how can anybody suggest that there's anybody who doesn't want to leave the earth better than we found it? That is such a core, fundamental — I think — human value."
Curtis was speaking from the stage at Utah Valley University's Ragan Theater on Friday as part of the third annual Conservative Climate Summit, an event he convened and described as a "frank discussion," free from the shame and judgment he has said are too prevalent in the mainstream climate movement. Several hundred attendees gathered at the Orem campus on a torrid October day, with temperatures forecast in the high 80s.
Curtis has been uncharacteristically outspoken on the climate as a Republican, and founded the Conservative Climate Caucus to give conservatives a seat at the discussion table. He still supports the use of fossil fuels as a way to reach his goal of "affordable, reliable and clean" energy.
Curtis believes each of the major energy sources has "an Achilles' heel" — he says fossil fuels aren't clean enough, nuclear energy is too expensive and renewables such as wind and solar lack storage capabilities to make them truly reliable. But he thinks the market is pushing toward improvements on each front, and he believes all forms of energy will be needed going forward.
Conservatives and climate
Curtis admits there is a "stereotype" when it comes to Republicans and climate change.
"A lot of Republicans, when asked about climate and man's influence on it, feel like the only answer is 'no,'" he said. "I personally believe that climate's changing and that man's had some influence on it, but I don't use that as a litmus test. ... If you take people where they are, you will find they feel comfortable talking about this."
That's an approach he has tried to foster when recruiting his House colleagues to join his caucus, which has now grown to 85 House members — 80 more than some of Curtis' staff members predicted would join, but still less than 40% of the entire House GOP caucus.
Rep. Celeste Maloy, R-Utah, attended Curtis' summit last year, when she was first running for her seat in Utah's 2nd Congressional District, and admitted to being afraid to participate due to potential backlash from her core voters. From the other side, she said there is an "assumption" that Western conservatives "just want to rape and pillage the resources" from public lands.
"For me, it's kind of scary to be involved in anything called 'conservative climate caucus,' because as soon as you use the word climate, those of us that fall into the natural resources bucket start to get nervous," she said.
This year, Maloy said those fears have lessened, thanks to the growing conversation around climate and natural resources.
While Curtis has plenty of criticism for the activists on the left he partially blames for creating a "litmus test" to be included in the conversation about climate change, he had some choice words for the entrenched members of his own party.
"Now, let's be honest, my far-right-leaning friends also need to give in a little bit and relax a little bit on this conversation," he said. "Why? Because if we're not at the climate table, we have zero influence in policy."
Asked if he sees a litmus test on the right that precludes Republicans from acknowledging the existence of climate change, Curtis told KSL.com: "I'm just going to say litmus tests are bad, right? And the problem is, you're never good enough. The litmus tests are almost created to make you fail."
Gleich criticizes Heritage Foundation speaker
Curtis' movement still has a way to go, both within the Republican Party and outside of it. Caroline Gleich, who is running against Curtis for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Sen. Mitt Romney, criticized the representative for hosting a speaker from the conservative Heritage Foundation — which she said "aims to cut vital climate research, dismantle environmental offices and prevent climate science from shaping policy."
"This summit is nothing more than a distraction orchestrated by the fossil fuel industry to delay, distract and hide their destructive impact on our health and climate," Gleich said in a statement Friday. "Utah doesn't need more empty talk; we need leadership that delivers. While in Congress, Rep. Curtis voted against environmental protections time and time again, earning a worse environmental voting record than even Sen. Mike Lee."
Gleich was referring to keynote speaker Victoria Coates, a member of the Heritage Foundation who told attendees she "proudly" worked on the energy section of the group's now-infamous Project 2025, a proposed presidential transition plan that has become a frequent punching bag for opponents of the GOP ticket.
When Curtis was asked about the statement, he told reporters that he was surprised several years ago to learn that Heritage and other conservative groups — along with the oil industry — had acknowledged that climate change is influenced by human activity and were looking to "move on" to alternatives as the market prescribed.
"I think too many Republican politicians felt like they had to defend fossil fuels, not really realizing that fossil fuels had moved on and that we were not," he said. "We were so afraid of the conversation ... and part of my aha moment was these conservative think tanks were ahead of us in where this was at."
