Alaska Senator Dan Sullivan has been a member of the U.S. Senate since 2015. He serves on four Senate Committees, including the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, the Armed Services Committee, the Environment and Public Works Committee, and the Veterans’ Affairs Committee. Before his election to the Senate, he served as Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, as well as serving as Alaska’s Attorney General. He also served as assistant secretary of state under the Bush administration.
Dan Sullivan on Climate Change
Dan Sullivan’s views on climate change have dramatically fluctuated over the years. Alaska politician Joe Miller, who ran against Sullivan in the 2014 Senate Republican Primary with an anti-global warming agenda, attempted to expose Sullivan as a climate change “alarmist” to Alaskan republicans, knowing that the majority of their potential constituents do not support climate reform. Miller states that during his time with the State Department in the Bush Administration in 2007, Dan Sullivan spoke publicly about the need for climate reform, specifically a plan that calls for a long-term reduction in global greenhouse gas use. In 2008, he said in a speech to the Scandinavian Renewable Energy Forum, “our energy challenges and climate change challenges stem primarily from a common source – an overreliance on hydrocarbons as the world’s primary form of energy.”
However, Dan Sullivan has recently appeared to change his views on human-influenced Climate Change, writing in an email that “Alaska is on the front lines when it comes to changes in our climate, and with seven billion people on earth, humans will have an effect. However, despite what many climate change alarmists want us to believe, there is no general consensus on pinpointing the sole cause of global temperature trends.”
It is unclear why Sullivan’s opinion has changed, but it can be assumed that he is making an effort to appease Republican voters in Alaska. As of right now, this inconsistency has made his exact climate change agenda unclear.
Senator Dan Sullivan will be running for reelection in 2020.
Dan Sullivan and Friends
Dan Sullivan’s reelection was recently endorsed by President Donald Trump, despite withdrawing his support for him a few weeks before the election in 2016. In an official statement, coming shortly after the Access Hollywood tapes where he boats about sexual assault were leaked, he stated that “We need national leaders who can lead by example on this critical issue. The reprehensible revelations about Donald Trump have shown that he can’t. Therefore, I am withdrawing my support for his candidacy.”
Sullivan was endorsed by Club For Growth when he announced his candidacy for Senate in 2013. Club for Growth is a conservative organization that opposes government action against climate change, and was one of the many organizations that supported President Trump’s decision to exit the Paris Agreement.
See also:
Rep. Jody Hice (R-GA, 10th District)
Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX, 21st District)
Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK)
Climate of Denial