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Nearly a dozen Republican members of Congress will break ranks with leaders of their party on Thursday, and call for action against climate change.
The mini-rebellion a week before the pope visits Congress appears timed to ratchet up the pressure on Republican presidential candidates and congressional leaders to soften a party line of casting doubt – or simply denying – the existence of climate change.
So far, at least 10 House Republicans have signed on to the resolution acknowledging that human activity contributes to climate change, and calling for actions to respond to the threat of climate change.
The resolution was drafted by Chris Gibson, a former US army colonel and congressman from New York who is not seeking re-election.
The resolution, calling for “conservative environment stewardship” was endorsed by representatives Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Carlos Curbelo of Florida, Robert Dold of Illinois, Dave Reichert of Washington, Pat Meehan, Ryan Costello, and Mike Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, and Richard Hanna and Elise Stefanik of New York, according to the National Journal.
A number of those representatives are also not seeking re-election or are from moderate districts.
Campaigners who have been working for months to break Republicans’ blanket climate denial said they were hoping for more converts.
Catholic climate activists said on Wednesday they were planning to deliver copies of the pope’s encyclical on climate change – a sweeping denunciation of environmental degradation and global inequality – to each of the 166 Republican members of Congress.
