The Right Approach to Climate Change

When it comes to being vocal about climate change, Republicans have made their mammoth presence unheard. Many of the party’s key players have shied away from the dialogue, as their more liberal colleagues continue to battle for new bills and better resolutions.     

It’s a political divide that Republican entrepreneur Jay Faison hopes to vault. The Charlotte-based philanthropist (and Audubon supporter) says he is tired of seeing Republicans standing on the sidelines; he wants them to lead the charge on climate change. With this ambitious aim he committed a $165 million endowment to create the ClearPath Foundation and its cohort media platform ClearPath.org, which launched yesterday.

The goal of ClearPath’s digital project is to tailor the discussion of climate change to a conservative audience and help give GOP politicians the space to come up with their own ideas on combating global warming. It’s not about holding hands with the Democrats, Faison says. “Though there can be compromise, we don’t want to simply agree with the current set of solutions on the table.” Instead of sweating it out over emission caps, Faison thinks that developing renewable energy is the key to avoiding environmental disaster. ClearPath’s new site reflects that with an impressive array of information, including a guide to using ENERGY STAR, a preview of electric driving, and a rundown of some of the largest consumer-based companies and their clean manifestos. Another story takes a close look at the power of batteries (Faison’s personal favorite in green tech) and how they might drastically alter the way the world uses energy. And if there’s one article that might really seal the deal, it’s the one titled “America’s Oil Addiction Fuels Terrorism.”   

Faison takes great pains to make it clear that his dedication to the environment is tightly aligned with his business perspective. “I’m an outdoorsman,” he says, “but I’m also a businessman. There’s a balance between economic development and environmentalism. The two don’t have to work in odds.” A decade ago he founded the technology company SnapAV, which creates and distributes custom audio and visual products for electronics makers. But it’s been even longer—about 15 years, he says—since he first realized that Republicans need to make climate change their issue, too. In 2013 Faison sold the business and decided to use his time and resources to found ClearPath. A good place to start, he thought, would be to create a digital platform with a deep well of resources and a clean line of thinking.

To build a new approach to this labyrinth of an issue, Faison and his team assembled a web of scholars, innovators, and political leaders: Ronald Prinn, an atmospheric science professor at MIT, and Jeremy Oppenheim, the resource economics leader at the management consulting firm McKinsey & Company, are two examples. Groups that contributed their content include Climate Central and the Rocky Mountain Institute. For the rest of its data, ClearPath relies on non-partisan, expert sources like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the International Energy Agency. Together, these advisers, partners, and sources form a mega-brain that will deliver the latest in climate news and science to anyone seeking an education on it. It doesn’t matter whether you’re looking for a teaser or a saga, Faison says, the site can bring you up to speed in 20 minutes or 20 hours.

One of ClearPath’s first series focuses on Pope Francis’s U.S. tour in September. The Pope recently voiced a call to climate action for the 1.1 billion Catholics in the world—a message that Faison thinks will be crucial for inspiring Republicans on the national and local level. Thus inspired, they can turn to ClearPath.org to gain an understanding of the environmental problems and risks, and learn more about the available solutions. And once the understanding is there, Faison hopes they’ll realize that green energy is a boon to the economy, not a plague. 

Changing the status quo is no easy task, even with ClearPath’s crew of analysts and vast resources. Other groups have presented the science, the market stats, and the politics of climate change to the public, but ClearPath is the first to assemble all of these parts into one gun-slinging media machine. In the delicate and essential balance between the environment, the economy, and the law of the land, it’s looking to quickly find its footing with a Republican audience.

Though the aspirations are political, the data isn’t: The foundation wants to reveal the facts without coddling deniers. It’s a jarring approach, but necessary, given the prejudice in some red states against the renewable energy industry. Again, politics comes into play—without laws backing renewables there’s no room for sustainable businesses. "Clean-energy businessmen in North Carolina are having their whole livelihoods being threatened because politics is changing the rules," Faison says. “It’s not easy for clean-energy companies to navigate the waters these days.”

“It’s a long road to the policies,” Faison adds. “We’re just trying to lay out the case and lay out the facts so that we can start the dialogue.” The foundation also aims to generate grants and amplify advocacy efforts on state and national levels. With the 2016 presidential race fast approaching, it’s a good time to ramp up efforts, Faison says. The election could be a game changer for the GOP and for America, which needs both of its major parties to take the helm in the international climate-change movement.