Conservation Caucus Gives ‘Green Cover’ to Fossil-Friendly Lawmakers
The International Conservation Caucus Foundation's partners include ExxonMobil, the National Audubon Society, and Coca-Cola.
The warming climate is bringing about a new wave of species extinctions, acidifying the oceans, and causing droughts and wildfires that emit carbon and contribute to climate change.
But you won’t hear anything about it from the largest environment-focused member organization in Congress, the International Conservation Caucus (ICC).
Composed of more than a quarter of both the House and Senate, including both Democrats and Republicans, the ICC says its 137 members share a conviction to conserve and responsibly manage natural resources.
The caucus, however, barely mentions climate change on its website and does not back climate proposals in Congress that would reduce polluting emissions, measures that conservationists say are necessary and are opposed by the fossil fuel industry. The ICC promotes its work in areas like instructing the U.S. Postal Service to continue selling tiger stamps to fund international conservation efforts and sponsoring new research into plastic marine debris.
The ICC is supported by the 501(c)(3) nonprofit International Conservation Caucus Foundation (ICCF), which says it brings together “leaders at the highest levels of government” with business and NGOs to seek consensus on “market-oriented conservation solutions.”
