Lindsey Graham, Joe Biden Talk Potential Collaboration on Climate Change Issue

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told "Axios on HBO" that he plans to "lean into" climate change and that he has already spoken with President Biden's special climate envoy, John Kerry, about possible common ground.

(Photo : Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC

Interview with Axios

Kerry contacted Graham in November. According to a follow-up interview with Axios, Kerry's new job was revealed to see if there were any opportunities to work together.

The State Department did not react to Graham's account of the conversation.

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Graham's Climate Change History

Graham has a history of working with Kerry on environment issues, but it hasn't been fruitful.

He spent months negotiating a comprehensive climate bill with then-Democratic senators John Kerry and Joe Lieberman over a decade ago.

Bipartisan Grounds

The bipartisan senators were nicknamed "The Three Amigos" at the time, after a Steve Martin comedy in which silent film actors from Los Angeles inadvertently rescue a Mexican village from a group of robbers.

On the other hand, Graham suddenly walked away from the two Democrats in April 2010, delivering a fatal blow to the bill, which died months later.

If the senior South Carolina Republican prioritizes climate change and lobbies his Republican peers, it could help break down major obstacles to bipartisan cooperation.

"I'm trying to get the Republican Party to at least consider a modern economy," Graham said on HBO's "Axios."

Goals

Graham, who supports imposing a carbon tax, claims that changes in the attitudes of dominant sectors, such as oil and gas producers and automakers, provide new opportunities.

He emphasized GM's (General Motors) recent commitment to market only electric vehicles and SUVs by 2035, as well as oil companies' efforts to diversify into renewable fuels.

Graham is particularly interested in finding ways to speed up electric cars' introduction while also bolstering the Highway Trust Fund.

It's subsidized by diesel taxes that haven't changed in three decades, but it's running out of money as vehicles get more fuel-efficient and electric vehicle sales rise.

Graham had shown interest in climate change on many occasions in recent years, including last year when he co-sponsored a bill with two Democrats to help farmers participate in carbon credit markets.

Graham vs Other Republicans

However, after leaving the 2010 campaign, he hasn't made it a high priority in his Senate career, and his latest remarks cover the common ground for the South Carolina Republican.

Graham's cause was hampered by the fact that the most influential Republican, former President Donald Trump, publicly ridiculed the idea of combating climate change over the last four years.

Republicans, in general, continue to oppose the kind of ambitious emissions-reduction measures sought by Democrats and environmentalists.

Carbon taxation is therefore no longer a focal point of Democratic climate policy. Instead of focusing on deep carbon reduction, lawmakers and Biden administration officials focus on large-scale investments and strict regulatory rules to reduce emissions from coal plants, vehicles, and other sources.

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