When you think about issues that Republicans care about, climate change probably doesn’t come to mind. It’s something Benji Backer is trying to fix. The 26-year-old Appleton, Wisconsin native argues the Republican Party needs to change its stance on climate change to bring young voters aboard. And beyond that, he believes that Republicans and Democrats will have to work together to tackle climate change.
“The future of environmentalism is nonpartisan and has conservatives at the table,” Backer says.
The conservative Gen-Zer is the founder and executive chairman of the American Conservation Coalition, a nonprofit that boasts more than 50,000 young conservative members. The Coalition is also one of the sponsors of the Republican National Convention this week. During the convention, Backer says members of his team will be filming social media content with politicians and delegates and promoting stories of leaders who are spearheading environmentalism in the party.
The American Conservation Coalition is also teaming up with Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions, ClearPath and the Conservative Climate Foundation to host a reception on Tuesday at the Mitchell Park Domes that aims to gin up enthusiasm for Republican-friendly climate policy.
Ahead of the RNC, the Republican Party released its party platform, which spotlights energy dominance but is notably silent on climate change. “Republicans will increase Energy Production across the board, streamline permitting, and end market-distorting restrictions on Oil, Natural Gas, and Coal,” the plan says.
Backer acknowledged there’s plenty of room for progress, though he felt the document still represented a small win.
“There is no mention of climate change denial, there’s no mention of the environment not being a priority,” he says. “I know that’s a low bar. But that is progress compared to the last few years.”
Other signs of progress? Consider the gains of Conservative Climate Caucus in Congress, Backer says, the founder of which, Rep. John Curtis of Utah, will speak at the climate reception on Tuesday. Backer also points to bipartisan legislation like the recently signed ADVANCE Act, which will boost nuclear energy and is considered the biggest win in clean energy legislation since the president’s Inflation Reduction Act passed in 2022.
“You can look at the party platform and say, ‘Hey, there’s really not a huge mention of climate change, which is something that we’re trying to change,’” says Backer, who spoke with WUWM ahead of the RNC. “But the progress is stacking up all over the place.”
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What is your goal at the RNC this week?
For the first time ever, conservatives will have a pro-environment, pro-climate message at the RNC. Our organization, alongside some of our partners, ClearPath, and CRES, are bringing the message that protecting the environment and protecting conservative values — they don't have to go at odds with each other.
We are trying to show that this important issue — that used to be a Republican issue, something that Republicans led on, not only in Wisconsin, but nationally — is something that we can lead on again, without sacrificing those other issues, right? We need energy reliability, we need energy affordability, we need to protect ourselves against Russia and China and other adversaries. All these other issues are tied to the environment and energy and climate. We can protect those things while also protecting nature and the planet that we love so much. We want to show Republicans that you don't have to give up your values to protect the environment, which is what so many of you have been fearful of over the last few decades.
You grew up in Appleton. What were the politics that shaped you? And how did climate and the environment come to be the issue that you would shape your career around?
I grew up being active in conservative politics in Wisconsin, at the age of 10. I started campaigning for people like John McCain, and then later Scott Walker, Reid Ribble, who was my congressman up in Appleton. I started campaigning, going door to door and phone-calling before my voice had even changed.
In Wisconsin, especially with some of the state legislative races, I felt like my voice was truly something that mattered. I started all these youth organizations to try to inspire others to do the same throughout middle school in high school. At the same time, I also felt frustrated by my "party's” lack of leadership on the environment because I also grew up a big environmentalist. I love hiking and waterskiing and spending time on the lakes of northern Wisconsin. I never saw it as a political or partisan issue.
I also really cared about climate change. I was starting to notice that winters where we had a white Christmas were increasingly rare. One of my family's big things on Christmas was to go sledding every Christmas. That really wasn't possible by the time I was graduating high school. It started opening up my eyes to climate science. And again, I felt like climate change was at odds with my political beliefs. I decided to start an organization to get conservatives back to the table like they used to be and help figure out how to make this issue nonpartisan again.
Going back to when you were 10 — that's kind of wild. Did you grow up with your parents being active in that scene?
Actually, my parents weren't active in politics at all. [We] were one of those families where you don't talk about politics. You don't put political signs in your yard, you don't boast your political opinions. I didn’t even really know where my parents stood politically. My parents were entrepreneurs, they started businesses, and they spent a lot of their time with our family and their business.
It was something that was a natural inclination for me, I don't really know exactly why I felt inspired by it. But I do know, once I got active, I felt inspired by the fact that my voice was making a true impact in races. Like a local assemblyman could win a primary by a few dozen votes. I knew that my volunteering a couple dozen hours a week probably made a difference enough to swing the outcome of the election.
That's a classic Wisconsin, battleground state origin story.
Exactly. Growing up in Wisconsin, I loved how hot and dramatic the political system was. When Scott Walker was going into the recall election, I made the most phone calls. Wisconsin is truly in a league of its own in terms of how toxic sometimes, but also how entertaining and how interesting the politics are. I think growing up around that was a really critical reason why I cared so much.
Gen-Zers, like yourself, are increasingly worried about climate change, regardless of their politics. Can you get into that? Why do you feel this is so pressing for the Republican Party to shift gears on?
We don't see climate change as a partisan issue. We see it as a human issue, we see it as something that has to be solved whether we're Republican or Democrat. That’s why it matters to get Republicans active. If we want to solve this problem, we can't just have solutions that work when one side is in power. We need to have both sides [at] the table. And we don't need 100% of Americans to agree that this is a top concern. But we do need to have consensus across party lines [so] that we can actually pass legislation and have a long-lasting impact over the last few decades.
What's happened is Republicans will undo what Democrats do. And in my opinion, Democrats often overstep their bounds. It's very counterproductive. I don't really care who's in leadership when it comes to this issue. I think with almost anyone my age, we realize that's what's necessary to get things done. So that no matter who wins the presidency, no matter who wins the governor's race, that you have climate action.
Ahead of the RNC, the Republican Party released a document on the GOP’s platform, saying it aims to make the U.S. energy dominant, slash regulations on fossil fuels, get federal permitting moving faster. There's no mention of climate change. I'm wondering where you see room for climate policy?
I think one of the wins that will be overshadowed in the conversation around the Republican Party platform is there is no mention of climate change denial, there's no mention of the environment not being a priority. I know that's a low bar. But that is progress compared to the last few years. Donald Trump, when he released his talking points about climate change and the environment before the last debate, talked about the importance of lowering carbon emissions in America.
Obviously, there's a lot of work to be done there. And I'm not going to shy away from the fact that that's not the perfect message. But it's a lot closer than it has been over the last few years. Republicans have found a way to lead on this over the last few years without getting credit for it. It's shown in Congress with what we helped start — the Conservative Climate Caucus. It's the second largest caucus in all of Congress. There are over 100 Republicans who are saying climate change is real, and we need to do something about it. So you can look at the party platform and say, “Hey, there's really not a huge mention of climate change,” which is something that we're trying to change. But the progress is stacking up all over the place.
We're looking at a presidential election with two candidates who really differ on climate. Former President Donald Trump has openly mocked climate science. Where does that leave you with the presidential election this fall?
Like most people in Gen Z, I don't really know what to do when it comes to this fall's election. I have strong conservative principles. But I also don't feel represented by this year's election and the presidential candidates that we have. I do feel like there are a lot of our generation's priorities that are not being met by either candidate.
But I do feel like we've over-focused on the presidential election. There are so many great candidates for Congress, for state legislative races, for Governor races. That's where a lot of my attention is going.
I don't know what's going to happen this fall. I don't really know if I'm going to vote for either candidate. I have not voted for President Trump or President Biden. In previous years, I've written people in. I’ve appreciated President Trump's somewhat different stance on climate over the last few months. It's been a better conversation; he has not openly mocked or denied climate change. But I think if he or anybody else wants to win over young voters, there has to be a better stance on this. I hope by 2028, we have both presidential candidates of both major parties saying that climate change is a priority. And I hope that our candidates actually resemble what Americans want. Because right now, that's not happening.
What are you looking forward to this week in Milwaukee?
This is a great opportunity to showcase to the rest of the world what Wisconsin has to offer. Milwaukee in the summer is a truly remarkable city, it's got a lot to offer. But I'm also excited to show that the party is not the party of climate denial anymore. That the Republican Party is the party of common sense, environmental action.
Our organization will be there in full force. We're going to have activists from across the state, from across the country. And we're going to show Donald Trump — who seems like he's kind of in the middle on this issue right now, even though it might not seem like that to people who have heard his previous comments — we're going to show him that his Republican governors, his Republican members of Congress, they all want action on this. We're going to send that message loud and clear that the future of the Republican party is a party of environmental and climate action. And if you're not on board with that, your legacy will be the one that was behind the times.
It's looking like it's gonna be really hot on Sunday and Monday. So you might have some extreme heat to help make your case.
I don't like that there's extreme heat to help make my case. We'll have to go jump in Lake Michigan if it gets too hot. There's obviously proof around us all the time that climate change is happening. I do not believe it's a doomsday scenario where we need to act by tomorrow, otherwise, the world's gonna burn. But I think it's a perfect example of why conservative leadership is needed.
