The following interview was originally published in Forbes France on November 13, 2021.
ConservAmerica promotes ecology in the American right. Their bipartisan action is critical for passing environmental legislation across the Atlantic. Nan Hayworth, the chair of the board of directors, is the former representative of New York in the House of Representatives of the United States Congress. Trammell Crow, son of an American real estate mogul, is the big money-maker of conservative environmentalists in the United States. He is notably the chairman of Earth X, the largest American environmental forum, with 190,000 visitors in 2019.
ConservAmerica, formerly known as Republicans for Environmental Protection (REP), is a national non-profit organization established in 1995. Your stated aim is to strengthen the Republican Party’s position on environmental issues and to support efforts to conserve natural resources and protect human and environmental health. You appear on the political scene as moderate Republicans, or centrists, who try to find a balance between the market economy at the risk of overexploitation of conservation sites, and state regulations (especially federal) for protect sites to the detriment of economic opportunities. In the context of the growing polarization of American politics, how does it feel to be the lone voice of Reason? How to rally the two camps to a pragmatic compromise?
Nan Hayworth: The mainstream media, which is dominated by the left, make it appear that the Conservatives do not care about the environment. In fact, the Conservatives support the environment in their own way – that is, by respecting the principles of limited government and private property. Much of Joe Biden’s Green New Deal isn’t actually an environmental protection agenda, but rather an effort to institute economic controls and a state-sponsored top-down approach, as we support private initiatives. from small and large entrepreneurs. When I was in Congress, I saw firsthand how taxpayers’ money is being misused. Due to the relative absence of liability, the government does not choose its policies on the basis of the smartest evidence, but much more on the basis of cronyism, relationships and political agendas. This is why it is so important to let the markets make these decisions. As conservatives, we believe it all starts with a strong market for ideas and valuing economic incentives and private property. We also minimize government intervention to a pragmatic level which is practical, which preserves the environment but does not suppress individual economic interests. we believe it all starts with a strong market for ideas and valuing economic incentives and private property. We also minimize government intervention to a pragmatic level which is practical, which preserves the environment but does not suppress individual economic interests. we believe it all starts with a strong market for ideas and valuing economic incentives and private property. We also minimize government intervention to a pragmatic level which is practical, which preserves the environment but does not suppress individual economic interests.
ConservAmerica was founded in 1995, so we are relatively young in the context of America’s political history. However, we have relied on the noble legacy of Theodore Roosevelt, a Republican president who spawned the conservation movement and implemented some important environmental protections. That’s why we called our congressional caucus the Roosevelt Congressional Caucus. We have allied ourselves with other organizations like EarthX, we have a growing presence in the House and Senate, and we have a great team at ConservAmerica, which allows us to look to the future with optimism.
Our main motivation is that we can present arguments; we can bring together people from all political backgrounds. When we present pragmatic examples of the synergy between environmental conservation and economic stewardship, we find real resonance with the public and legislators. Everyone wins: Markets can foster innovation and solutions to meet our energy needs, and conserve resources for the future.
To win over more Republicans, ConservAmerica shifted the focus from regulatory laws to green entrepreneurship, reconciling the free market with green development. In particular, one of ConservAmerica’s board members, Trammell Crow, developed EarthX, an exhibition on consumer style and green technologies that attracted 180,000 visitors in 2019. Why the emphasis on l green entrepreneurship so essential to making environmentalism acceptable to the conservative American public?
Trammell Crow: There is no silver bullet, government regulation that says there is only one answer. Free enterprise encourages all different answers. We mainly present environmental NGOs, conservation NGOs. We stand out from other gatherings because we let everyone in: businesses, schools, all types of NGOs… We even let the military in, unlike some big annual environmental conferences in Washington or New York. York, without a single player from our armed forces, while they have developed major research and technologies for the environment.
If you can let the market do it, instead of using taxpayer dollars, it will always be more efficient. The market is more flexible, more apt to find better solutions than inefficient government agencies. The government has to pick a winner or a loser, settle for a solution and inject a lot of money into it regardless of the risk. In addition, many people make different bets and offer very different solutions. We should let American ingenuity and innovation flourish.
Nan Hayworth: We’ve seen that the carbon emissions profile for the United States has improved better under President Trump than any other great nation. This has been achieved not through increased regulation, but through increased deregulation, leveling the playing field and letting companies with better deals win against their counterparts. I don’t think entrepreneurship depends on an act of government.
In Europe, green conservatism is at a peak with a rising generation of young green right-wingers like Eugénie Bastié, Marion Maréchal or Gaultier Bès. To be green is to be pro-nature, and for them it is inseparable from conservative positions such as pro-life (anti-abortion). Their environmentalism is also deeply localist. To be green is to advocate a sedentary, ascetic and traditional way of life, far from contemporary consumerism and mass migration. What is ConservAmerica’s position on these issues? Do you advocate localism?
Nan Hayworth: At ConservAmerica, we believe in preserving our natural heritage for future generations. We do not engage in social issues, and we welcome and respect different points of view within our board and team.
We focus on the synergies to be achieved in the name of environmental protections, conservation, resource management, the synergies that occur when all of these goals are combined with economic sustainability. While we are not specifically arguing for localism, we do emphasize the advantages of increased local control over federal control. The closer the regulatory process is to those who live with those resources, the better the results. What Washington dictates doesn’t necessarily make sense in Colorado, Wyoming, or Massachusetts.
Trammell Crow: At EarthX, one of the reasons for our success is that we attract people from across the country, people who are concerned with these issues, and who are thinking about these issues and what they can do about it. at their own local level, rather than supporting a federal top-down approach. However, during our 15 conferences, on different sectors of the environment, the ocean, renewable energies, law, climate, circularity, etc., we always
have opposing points of view. Letting these opinions express themselves in a debate, letting the solutions clash in a market, this is our mantra.
Last year, Congress passed what is widely considered the most important conservation law in decades. The Great American Outdoors Act fully and permanently funds the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and tackles the nearly $ 20 billion backlog in the maintenance of US national parks and other federal lands. The fact that such legislation has been blocked for so long in Congress is very surprising to us Europeans. For many Europeans, it makes sense that after so many westerns shot in natural locations, Hollywood has advocated for land conservation in a way that the European film industries have never done.
Trammell Crow: There is a curious mindset in America that national parks will take care of themselves. The two parties, Republicans and Democrats, consider that this is a budget item they would like to reduce quickly. In fact, long ago they instituted a policy of not clearing forests of brush, dead wood, and dead vegetation. It was a budget cut like this that sparked the forest fires recently. The devastating wildfires unfolding in California have been portrayed by most mainstream media as the effect of climate change rather than poor land management. They are using it to rekindle support for massive control programs like the Green New Deal.
One of the problems in protecting our heritage is the tragedy of the commons. Just like in other places around the world, with Americans placing a high value on private property, it is often difficult to convince people to unite and take care of public lands.
Nan Hayworth: One of my favorite books is History of the American People by Paul Johnson. He talks about the fact that we had – rightly or wrongly according to your interpretation – this vast continent to occupy. According to the concept of Manifest Destiny, God has given us this earth with its incredible resources. There was this feeling that this natural wealth would never run out. We ended up exterminating species. If you walk around America, you realize this fact. It was the great revival of environmentalism in the 1960s that catalyzed a new generation of conservationists. People like Trammell are the ones who really started the conservation movement and are now passing the torch on to the next generation. More generally, we do not have the same history as the Europeans. We do not have the same heritage of antiquities and medieval towns. When we move to our modern cities, we forget the countryside. That is why we need to build a strong culture of land conservation.
Since March 2020, the current COVID crisis has profoundly reshaped the infrastructure the world needs. Some needs, such as digital infrastructure and faster information flows, are growing, while demand for others, such as infrastructure for the movement of people, is falling sharply. New areas of investment are now seen as infrastructure, such as vaccine capacity, the lack of which can quickly cripple an economy. More generally, the Covid crisis has highlighted the need for more sustainable development, more resilient and local supply chains. In this context, what does ConservAmerica expect from President Biden’s infrastructure deal?
Nan Hayworth: Infrastructure is something that our country must maintain and bring into the 21st century. We recognize that concern for the environment and environmental improvements go hand in hand with a strong economy. We want to be sure that the country’s infrastructure can provide this strong economy. We strongly believe in pragmatic, common sense solutions that unite Americans across the political spectrum, rather than trying to push through something that is not sustainable in the long run. The “infrastructure” package is intended to improve what is traditionally considered to be an infrastructure. It is clear that we need to improve roads, bridges and transmission lines for electric power. All of this is useful for improving the distribution of clean energy in the country. That said, there is not much in this package on what could be considered more purely environmental or conservation issues. Since this current infrastructure package, which has been passed by the Senate but has not yet been passed by the House or enacted, is a bipartisan product crafted by Republicans and Democrats, we at ConservAmerica, l ‘approve, although this does not mean that we support every provision of the bill. As conservatives, we naturally want to limit public spending as much as possible. which has passed the Senate but has not yet been passed by the House or enacted, is a bipartisan product developed by Republicans and Democrats, we at ConservAmerica endorse it, although that does not mean we supported every provision of the bill. As conservatives, we naturally want to limit public spending as much as possible. which has passed the Senate but has not yet been passed by the House or enacted, is a bipartisan product developed by Republicans and Democrats, we at ConservAmerica endorse it, although that does not mean we supported every provision of the bill. As conservatives, we naturally want to limit public spending as much as possible.
Whenever Democrats think about the most game-changer, they go back to the 1930s and the era of Franklin Roosevelt. They cite social programs, VAT, and the Civilian Conservation Corps. These are all initiatives that came from the federal level. More recently, however, it is deregulation initiatives that have changed the game, such as the natural gas boom that occurred under the last Republican administration. This is what ConservAmerica wants to highlight. There is a good size and a good level of government. We don’t want zero regulations, zero directives; we can certainly honor great national goals. But when we streamline the regulatory process, we make everything more practical, more reasonable. When we remove layers of bureaucracy and process wherever we can, we can accelerate infrastructure development. But, you know, leftist initiatives tend to boil down to more regulation and enforcement. And this unfortunately has two negative effects. One of them is to suppress activity in general and to misdirect capital. And the other is to reward buddies who have political influence, and neither of those effects are good. One of them is to suppress activity in general and to misdirect capital. And the other is to reward buddies who have political influence, and neither of those effects are good. One of them is to suppress activity in general and to misdirect capital. And the other is to reward buddies who have political influence, and neither of those effects are good.
Joe Biden’s infrastructure deal, which has long been stuck in Congress, also underscored the need for bipartisan environmental policy efforts during this four-year term. After the misunderstandings between European countries and America during the Trump presidency on environmental policy, coordination between the two American parties but also with European environmental caucuses has become increasingly important. What steps has ConservAmerica taken to develop a comprehensive framework for bipartisan cooperation in the United States and international cooperation with other Western countries?
Trammell Crow:&nb
sp;Why does climate skepticism exist in America? If you go to Mexico, and talk to these great businessmen, there is no argument about climate change. So why is this the case in America? I think it’s because we all know it’s such an overwhelming thing, and we just don’t want to face such issues. The human mind just doesn’t want to face an overwhelming problem: you could say it’s a case of harmonic dissonance. The nature of the climate is that it is a slow process. In addition, this is a very complex scientific question: it is difficult to identify the causes and effects. The causes are also multiple: in addition to carbon emissions, there are also natural causes linked to solar cycles. The very nature of the climate makes it hard to believe, especially in a country like America, which is still so prone to skepticism. So we’re climate skeptics, and the skeptical scientists are very, very convincing. There are very good arguments about the inconsistencies in climate modeling.
In addition, some environmentalists have a terrible history of exaggeration. When I was in college, we read Paul Ehrlich’s The Population Time Bomb. He said that the end of the world was roughly scheduled for in 15 years, and that scared me the most. Likewise, Al Gore really did everyone a disservice when he wrote An Inconvenient Truth. Climate extremists and businesses have both harmed or opposed environmental measures for reasons of self-interest. Businesses opposed the measures to make more profits, and climate extremists used environmental conservation as green laundering and to advance their socialist agenda. For example, with regard to ESG disclosure requirements, if you really look at the numbers, there isn’t a lot of “environmental”, but a lot of “social”. And finally, it’s just pure politics. – Things that Democrats supported, and Republicans contested, and that’s part of the problem with current climate policy.
This is why bipartisan and international cooperation is important. ConservAmerica always tries to get people of different opinions to come together around a solution. This is one of the hallmarks of ConservAmerica. We have our own opinions on the right way to do things, but we recognize that we need to learn from others, make compromises, and ideally find bipartisan solutions. Over the years, we have had a number of dinners in Washington where we have brought together members from both parties to try and discuss where the points of convergence are and how we can get things done. When it comes to international agreements, we haven’t focused so much on the international side of things, not because we don’t think it matters, but rather because of bandwidth issues. But we think it’s important to connect and assess what’s going on in other countries, especially in Europe. So that’s something we are always open to and want to do.