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Fact check/Has Ryan Zinke changed his position on climate change?
Fact check: Has Ryan Zinke changed his position on climate change?
Ryan Zinke
February 7, 2017
By Amée LaTour
Writing for Mother Jones in December, Tim Murphy stated that Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.), the nominee to head the Department of the Interior, has “demonstrated a pointed skepticism about climate change" but added, "It wasn't always that way."[1]
Is Murphy correct? Has Zinke changed his position on climate change? No.
As proof of his claim, Murphy cites Zinke’s signature on a 2010 letter to President Obama and congressional leaders urging them to “pass comprehensive clean energy jobs and climate change legislation.” Zinke was a Montana state senator at the time, and the letter was signed by 1,209 other state lawmakers from 49 states.[2]
Murphy also refers to a debate during Zinke’s first congressional run in 2014 in which the candidate said that the climate is changing as it always has and humans are an influence, but the degree of that influence has not been settled.[3]
Murphy assumes that Zinke’s signature on the 2010 letter fully represented his position on climate change at the time. However, the letter does not address the extent to which human activity influences climate change, a question that has consistently been the crux of Zinke’s position. As far back as 2009, Zinke stated that “climate change and our nation’s energy policies are merging” and acknowledged “rising global temperatures,” although the cause, he said, is a “divisive issue.”[4] That is consistent with Zinke’s statements throughout the end of 2016, and during his confirmation hearing thereafter.[5][6]
Background
Zinke was elected to the Montana State Senate in 2008, where he served from 2009 to 2013. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives for Montana’s sole district in 2014 and reelected in 2016. Zinke serves on the House Committee on Natural Resources and the House Armed Services Committee. He holds a B.S. in geology from the University of Oregon and an M.S. in global leadership from the University of San Diego.[7]
The Trump administration announced its intention to nominate Zinke as the secretary of the Department of the Interior on December 15, 2016.[8]
2010 letter
The 2010 letter that Murphy cites as proof of Zinke’s earlier position featured sections on job growth, national security, and American innovation. The letter focused on the benefits of increased federal support for research on and development of renewable energy, energy efficiency investments, and reduced reliance on conventional fuels, including job creation, energy independence, and greater competitiveness in the global economy.[2]
The letter also contained two assertions relating to the threat of climate change. The first claimed that climate change was increasing damages from disasters such as hurricanes and floods:
| “ | State and local governments are seeing the benefit of clean energy jobs legislation, but we also face steep costs due to the risks associated with climate change. The costs and instabilities involve massive flooding and major hurricane damage, sustained droughts and widespread agricultural pests and diseases, and major biological disruptions affecting our water and food supply, health care, and public safety. These catastrophic costs affect insurance payouts and higher premiums for private- and public-sector policyholders. They also involve unprecedented economic losses to industry and to federal, state and local governments.[2][9] | ” |
The second statement about climate change in the letter asserted that it is a national security threat:
| “ | Our nation’s most respected military leaders recognize that climate change is a threat multiplier for instability in the most volatile regions of the world. The climate change threat presents significant national security challenges for the United States—challenges that should be addressed today, because they will almost certainly get worse if we delay.[2][9] | ” |
Zinke’s climate change statements
During his first year in the Montana State Senate in 2009, Zinke authored a newspaper commentary in which he noted, concerning the cause of climate change, “the issue is far from being definitively resolved. My view has always been that promoting clean air and clean water and reducing our dependency on foreign energy is a positive step forward. Once more, the sheer magnitude of what is at stake should dictate being open-minded.”[4]
During Zinke’s 2014 congressional bid, he asserted that humans do influence climate change but also said that the extent of that influence is unknown. In August 2014, the Associated Press reported that Zinke said rising ocean temperatures are more influential on climate change than manmade carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. “The evidence strongly suggests that humans have had an influence on higher CO2. However, the evidence is equally as strong that there are other factors, such as rising ocean temperatures, that have a greater influence.”[5]
Zinke’s confirmation hearing took place on January 17, 2017, one month after Murphy’s article in Mother Jones. During the hearing, Sen. Al Franken referred to the 2010 letter, specifically to the section asserting that climate change is an impending national security threat. Zinke responded: “There is no model today that can predict tomorrow. So where we agree is, we need objective science to one, figure a model out, and two, determine, what are we going to do about it?”[6]
Conclusion
Writing for Mother Jones in December, Tim Murphy stated that Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke, President Trump’s nominee for secretary of the Department of the Interior, has “demonstrated a pointed skepticism about climate change," but that "It wasn't always that way."
Zinke signed a letter in 2010 urging then-President Obama and congressional leaders to act on renewable energy and climate change, noting the economic and national security threats of a changing climate. The letter does not address the extent to which human activity influences climate change, a question that has consistently been the crux of Zinke’s position.
See also
- Fact check/Did Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke equivocate on selling or transferring public lands?
- Fact check/Has Ryan Zinke advocated for state control of energy development on federal lands?
- Federal policy on climate change, 2017
Sources and Notes
- ↑ Mother Jones, “Trump’s Interior Nominee Was for Climate Action Before He Was Against It,” December 14, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 National Caucus of Environmental Legislators, “Coalition of Legislators for Energy Action Now,” March 10, 2010
- ↑ C-SPAN, “141004 LEWIS ZINKE Debate Third Debate for MTAL 2014,” October 4, 2014. Video begins at 46:50.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Flathead Beacon, “The Merging of Climate Change and Energy,” August 21, 2009
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Missoulian, “Montana's U.S. House candidates' energy plans reveal contrasts,” August 3, 2014
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 C-SPAN, “Franken Question: Al Franken Round 1,” January 17, 2017
- ↑ The United States House of Representatives, “Commander Ryan Zinke: Montana’s Congressman,” accessed January 30, 2017
- ↑ GreatAgain, President-Elect Donald J. Trump Intends to Nominate U.S. Congressman Ryan Zinke as Secretary of the Interior,” December 15, 2016
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
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