Meet the new GOP chair of the House Science Committee

The new Republican chair of the House Science Committee is aware of full nicely the risks of local weather change.

That alone is a notable departure from a lot of immediately’s Republican Party, in addition to the final GOP lawmaker to carry the place, observers say.

But what Rep. Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) does with that data is one other query. Though Lucas has spoken about the risk posed by extra intense droughts and warmth waves, he additionally has resisted calls to chop the use of fossil fuels, by far the greatest contributor to international warming.

How Lucas squares these stances will go a great distance towards figuring out what — if any — local weather laws emerges from the Republican-controlled House over the subsequent two years, and if Lucas represents a change in tack from former Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), who led the Science Committee from 2013 to 2019.

“His views on climate are certainly far more moderate than those of many of his Republican colleagues, and in that sense, he is a welcome change from science denier Lamar Smith,” stated local weather scientist Michael Mann, who tangled with Smith at a 2017 listening to (Climatewire, March 29, 2017).

“At least he accepts the science, whether or not he supports policies that truly meet the moment,” Mann added.

Lucas, who was first elected to Congress in 1994, was uncontested in his bid to chair the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, which has oversight over a quantity of climate-related businesses, together with EPA, NASA and the departments of Energy and Commerce.

At a Science Committee listening to in March, Lucas acknowledged the risk that local weather change poses to the financial system of his state.

“As any one of my neighbors in rural Oklahoma could tell you, droughts are getting longer, heat waves are getting hotter, and the task of anticipating and managing risks from the environment has gotten more challenging,” he stated. “Extreme weather events can take lives and destroy property if we don’t prepare for them.”

While beneath Democratic management, the Science Committee held dozens of climate-related hearings over the final 4 years. At these hearings, Lucas acknowledged the actuality of local weather threats — at the same time as he criticized how a lot Democrats have targeted on the situation.

Still, the House Science Committee emerged as a uncommon place the place Democrats and Republicans have discovered some settlement on local weather points. That’s a change from when Smith ran the committee, observers say.

For years, Smith routinely labored to poke holes in well-established local weather science, and he elevated fringe voices at contentious hearings the place scientists typically confronted hostile traces of questioning (Climatewire, May 17, 2018).

Where Smith questioned fundamental local weather science, Lucas has acknowledged that warming is a significant issue. But even then, Lucas largely has targeted on adaptation over mitigation — and he has not pushed for insurance policies that would scale back U.S. reliance on fossil fuels.

Lucas has supported the build-out of clear vitality in addition to nuclear energy, however he additionally has pushed for the manufacturing of extra home pure fuel and different fossil fuels. Lucas has been a frequent critic of the Biden administration’s local weather insurance policies and voted in opposition to them.

“Punitive measures that make fossil fuel production too expensive or simply prohibited give Russia a corner on the market for natural gas,” he stated throughout his opening remarks at an April 2022 listening to. “Cutting back on our domestic production might pay lip service to climate change goals, but in reality, it does more harm than good.”

In 2021, Lucas laid out his philosophy on local weather coverage in an opinion piece for Morning Consult.

“Our goal should be to reduce emissions through government-industry research and development partnerships, industry-led solutions and to invest in the advancement of technologies such as carbon capture, biofuels and energy-efficient systems,” he wrote.

House Science Committee spokesperson Heather Vaughan stated Monday that Lucas is a “believer that you can get more done with a carrot than a stick,” and that he’s involved about transferring too quick towards the clear vitality transition.

“Under Lucas’ leadership, our goal is to facilitate a smoother clean energy transition — that means helping fossil fuels become cleaner and more efficient now, investing in battery storage and other technologies to make existing renewables more reliable, and supporting advanced clean energy development in things like nuclear and geothermal,” Vaughan stated in an announcement.

Lucas has a historical past of in search of areas the place he can work with Democrats, stated Karly Matthews, communications director at the American Conservation Coalition, a local weather advocacy group for younger conservatives.

She stated her group hopes that Lucas and Democrats can discover extra choices to help the nuclear trade, particularly the funding of fusion vitality analysis. She stated one other space the place Lucas and Democrats may discover frequent floor is with pure local weather options, equivalent to blue carbon storage on coastlines, which incorporates bolstering kelp, seaweed and mangroves.

“Chairman Lucas is a really good leader on this committee because he is willing to work across the aisle; he’s a really rational voice on climate and energy issues,” she stated. “We’re definitely very optimistic with him at the helm that there will be bipartisan cooperation.”

The rating Democrat on the committee is Rep. Zoe Lofgren (Calif.), who has a 25-year tenure on the committee. In an announcement, Lofgren stated she is ready to work with Lucas and her different Republican colleagues.

“I look forward to working in a bipartisan manner with Chair Frank Lucas on measures that boost climate research and build up our country’s ability to face future climate challenges, including by doubling down on fusion energy initiatives, passing a comprehensive National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reauthorization, and advancing R&D efforts for sustainable agriculture,” Lofgren stated in an announcement.

This story additionally seems in E&E Daily.