Georgia’s Rep. Buddy Carter, recently appointed to the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis by Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, says he’s “all in” on addressing climate change, a shift in position from even a year ago. “I’ve heard from constituents and this is real and this concerns them and it’s something we need to address,” he said. “It’s important to us in Coastal Georgia and I get it and I understand that. Climate change is real.” Carter’s district encompasses the state’s coastline and includes Savannah.
“In order to succeed, we’ve got to have a broad area of technologies that are brought to the market and they’ve got to include renewable and cleaner energy,” he said. “I view our responsibility in Congress is making sure we incentivize clean energy and technology and promote clean energy and the research and development.” While he’s “withholding judgement” on a carbon tax, he pointed to the need for a mechanism to incentivize the transition to clean energy. “America is the innovator and this is the opportunity for us to step up and a responsibility for us to step up.”
The other committee members include: Ranking member Rep. Garret Graves (Louisiana), Rep. Morgan Griffith (Virginia), Rep. Gary Palmer (Alabama), Rep. Carol Miller (West Virginia) and Rep. Kelly Armstrong (North Dakota).